CANNES: On Wednesday, Europe revealed the first satellite in a family of four that will cost four billion euros ($four billion) and be used to provide earlier warning of the catastrophic weather that has been wreaking havoc on the planet this year.
The MTG-I1 satellite will be launched by the end of this year on an Ariane 5 rocket and will provide sharper eyes in space over Europe and Africa as a result of a 12-year development period for EUMETSAT, which serves 30 countries.
The 3.8-ton spacecraft will begin transmitting photographs the following year, and by 2030, two MTG-S “sounding” satellites and three further MTG-I imaging satellites will be in geostationary orbit alongside it. It is hoped that forecasters will gain valuable time in predicting impending storms and floods that could result in fatalities.
Additionally, scanning the atmosphere will provide them with a more accurate image of the current weather to input into their computer models.
To compute the initial (weather) state is now a very difficult task, according to Herve Roquet, deputy head of research at Meteo France.
The project draws attention to a race to address weather disruptions that are made worse by global warming and are predicted to cost $100 billion globally in 2021 alone.
MTG-S will launch sounders into space for the first time, and MTG-I imaging satellites will roughly bring Europe in line with GOES-R managed by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, but with a newer lightning mapper.
European authorities said China has tested the technology but hasn’t used it, despite the fact that Beijing’s space program is expanding quickly.