EUMETSAT

21/10/2026

October 19 - on this day in 2006, a Starsem Soyuz 2.1a/Fregat rocket launched EUMETSAT's MetOp-A weather satellite from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The 4,244 kg, Astrium-built spacecraft was the first of three polar-orbiting meteorological satellites developed by ESA - European Space Agency. It became Europe's first polar orbiting satellite used for operational meteorology. It was decommissioned in 2021.

19/10/2026

🚨 Last chance to get involved! Deadline extended until Thursday.

Join us on 2-3 November at EUMETSAT headquarters in Darmstadt for this collaborative workshop focused on applications powered by Destination Earth (DestinE) Data Lake Edge Services.

The Data Lake is a core component of DestinE, providing access to volumes of data alongside advanced processing capabilities. This workshop will bring together users developing data-intensive applications and those looking to make the most of the Data Lake's Edge Services tools and infrastructure.

There’ll be short presentations and demos from active projects, as well as interactive discussions on users’ experiences and needs when working with Data Lake Edge Services.

🌍 DestinE is a European Commission (EU Digital & Tech) initiative implemented by ECMWF, ESA - European Space Agency and EUMETSAT.

📩 If you or someone in your organisation would like to participate, please contact the EUMETSAT DestinE Data Lake User Engagement Team at [email protected].

👉🔗 Further information: https://www.eventsforce.net/destineworkshop

19/10/2026

❄️ Following its launch on 15 September, the new Sentinel-3C satellite has delivered its first image from the Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer (SLSTR)!

Our image of the week this time shows a spring storm off the coast of East Antarctica, drawing mild, moist air from the Indian Ocean into the cold Antarctic air mass. Spiralling bands of clouds, honeycomb patterns, and sea ice stand out in clear detail on 2 October.

SLSTR measures land and sea surface temperatures crucial for weather forecasting, oceanography, and climate monitoring - especially in remote regions with fewer observations.

Learn more at our website: https://bit.ly/3U5WCsA

📸 Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2026), processed by EUMETSAT with colour adjustment and in-house calibration.

19/10/2026

🚢 Journey complete for Metop-SGB1!

Following its successful transport aboard the Canopée vessel from Bordeaux, the Metop-SGB1 satellite has safely arrived in Pariacabo, the port of Kourou in French Guiana.

Want to learn more about this new-generation mission and what it will achieve?

🎥 Watch our animation: https://youtu.be/MInO4LHs92M?si=d94k035xxARnAKF8

📸 Airbus Space

16/10/2026

ICYMI: Our new animation follows a full year of fire activity worldwide in 2025, tracking where fires broke out and where their smoke travelled. 🛰️🔥

It brings together three views from Europe’s Earth observation programmes:

🔥 Sentinel-3: Detects active fires globally from polar orbit.
🛰️ Meteosat-12: Watches Europe and Africa from geostationary orbit, capturing how fires and smoke develop over the day.
🌫️ Copernicus ECMWF: Provides aerosol data showing how smoke spreads through the atmosphere, affecting air quality thousands of kilometres away.

Watch the full video here: https://bit.ly/4e89qoY

15/10/2026

🌀 Captured on 11 October by Sentinel-3, this image shows Hurricane Simon in the eastern Pacific.

Simon brought damaging winds, heavy rainfall, and coastal flooding to parts of Mexico’s southwestern coast.

The image is from one of the Sentinel-3 satellites (A and B). The third satellite in the constellation, Sentinel-3C, was launched on 15 September and is already providing imagery.

Read more in our Image of the Week 👇
https://bit.ly/4zuxquF

14/10/2026

🔥 Monitoring Earth’s wildfires from space.

How do EUMETSAT and help track wildfires across the globe? By combining atmospheric models with high-resolution satellite imagery:

🛰️ Sentinel-3: Global imagery tracking fires from the US to Australia, Europe, and Africa.
🌍 Meteosat-12: Rapid-scan coverage over Europe and Africa.
💨 CAMS: Forecast models tracking organic aerosol and smoke transport.

With Sentinel-3C successfully launched on 15 September and returning its first images, data continuity for global fire and atmospheric monitoring is secured for years to come.

Find out more in our most recent video following a full year of global fire activity in 2025, tracking where fires broke out and where their smoke travelled: https://bit.ly/4e89qoY

13/10/2026

Following today's operational launch of Meteosat-13, let's see its data in action! 🛰️

This new 4D animation combines data from the sounder and imager instruments on board Meteosat-13, with the imaging and lightning instruments on Meteosat-12, offering an unprecedented view of how severe storms formed across Europe in August 2026.

By combining these observations, the visualisation maps:
⚡ Cloud evolution and lightning: Flashes seen across cloud tops
🍃 Wind: Direction and speed calculated from how clouds move between frames
🌧️ Precipitation: AI-derived rainfall estimates
🌡️ Atmospheric profiles: 3D layers of temperature and humidity updated every 30 minutes

"In the past, you could only get a view like this over Europe with numerical weather prediction models. This animation shows how we can now create a much more complete view of the weather from real measurements, updated every half hour." says Bojan Bojkov, Head of EUMETSAT’s Remote Sensing and Products Division.

Learn more at our website: https://bit.ly/4yiCbGY

13/10/2026

We have exciting news... Europe’s first geostationary sounder enters operational service today! 🛰️⚡

The Infrared Sounder on the first Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) Sounder spacecraft (now renamed Meteosat-13) is officially operational. Positioned 36,000km above the equator, its data will help strengthen forecasts and severe weather warnings. 👏

"National weather services across EUMETSAT Member States can now use these data to detect signs of atmospheric instability even before clouds begin to form," notes EUMETSAT Director-General Phil Evans. "Forecasters will see weather risks earlier and in more detail, so that citizens, first responders and civil authorities can act faster, and that saves lives."

Meteosat-13 also hosts the Sentinel-4 air quality mission on board, expected to start delivering operational data next year.

Read the full story: https://bit.ly/4zsh*tH

12/10/2026