A new European satellite launches on Tuesday that will greatly enhance forecasting of sudden, violent storms so that we can better prepare for them.
An Ariane rocket will lift the Meteosat-12 weather satellite into the sky to watch over the European continent, the Middle East and Africa.
It is the first spacecraft in a new, multi-billion-euro observing system.
Arguably this year’s most important European space launch, it replaces technology now more than 20 years old.
Europe has had its own meteorological spacecraft sitting high above the planet since 1977. The new imager that’s going up on Tuesday is the third generation in the series.
Meteosat-12 will return a full picture of the weather below it every 10 minutes, five minutes faster than is currently the case. It will be able to see even smaller features in the atmosphere, down to 500m across, and view them in more wavelengths of light.
National forecasting agencies such as the UK Met Office and Meteo France will see a big jump in the amount of data they receive.
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