Europe's Weather Satellite Delivers Stunning Earth Views

Space.com

The Meteosat third generation imager delivered imagery of Europe and Africa from 36,000 kilometers away (22,369 mi.).  Credit: ESA

Transcript

00:00We have now entered a new era of satellite meteorology.

00:11Europe's latest weather satellite, the Meteosat third generation imager,

00:17has just delivered its first image.

00:20But before we reveal it, what does this satellite do exactly?

00:24And what does this mean for weather forecasting?

00:28Weather, especially extreme weather, affects everything we do.

00:34Over the past 40 years, events like floods, heat waves and storms

00:40have caused close to 145,000 fatalities across Europe

00:45and economic losses of around 500 million euros.

00:50Monitoring weather is crucial not only in our day-to-day lives

00:54but also to determine future climate changes.

00:57In 1977, the first European weather satellite Meteosat took its place in orbit.

01:03Eleven satellites have since followed.

01:07From their vantage point 36,000 kilometers above the equator,

01:13they've been watching Earth non-stop for over four decades.

01:17These missions result from the long-standing cooperation between ESA and Eumitsat.

01:25In December 2022, the latest Meteosat satellite lifted off,

01:29marking the next generation of weather forecasting.

01:35The Meteosat third generation imager, the first of six satellites,

01:41will monitor the weather from space like never before.

01:45With its groundbreaking instruments, the satellite will deliver Earth observations

01:49of unprecedented range, resolution and frequency.

01:55This will enable weather forecasts to monitor the evolution of rapidly developing severe weather more accurately.

02:03The satellite's flexible combined imager can scan the entire Earth disk in 10 minutes,

02:11and deliver images over Europe in just 2.5 minutes.

02:15So, are you ready for the big reveal?

02:21This is the first image from the Meteosat third generation imager,

02:25showing Europe, Africa and the Atlantic in remarkable detail.

02:31Much of Northern and Western Europe, as well as Scandinavia, can be seen blanketed in clouds,

02:39with relatively clear skies over Italy and the Western Balkans.

02:45Details such as snow cover on the Alps, sediment in the water along the coast of Italy,

02:51and cloud vortices over the Canary Islands are visible.

02:57Crucially, for Nordic countries, the image also shows a greater level of detail of cloud structures at high latitudes.

03:07The Meteosat third generation imager is currently undergoing a commissioning phase,

03:12where its instruments are switched on, and the data they collect are calibrated.

03:18By the end of the year, the data will be distributed to meteorological services in Europe and beyond,

03:25and will soon be available on a screen, TV, or weather app near you.

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