EUMETSAT at the centre of a global network sharing weather and climate data
Agreements signed with Asian and African agencies to benefit weather forecasting
Europe’s meteorological satellite agency, EUMETSAT, will sign a series of cooperation agreements with international agencies over the next few months.
02 July 2021
02 July 2021
The agreements will continue the strong spirit of cooperation between agencies and help meet the global challenges of improving weather forecasting and the monitoring of climate change.
EUMETSAT’s governing council has approved the agreements with Chinese, Japanese, South Korean and two African agencies, which will bring mutual benefits through exchanges of data and scientific expertise.
“These agreements will directly benefit EUMETSAT’s 30 Member States and the citizens of China, Japan, South Korea and Africa,” EUMETSAT Head of Strategy, Communication and International Relations Paul Counet said.
“Our Member States benefit from timely access to more data from other agencies’ satellite instruments and in-situ data. These data will help improve weather forecasting, including the forecasting of severe weather events in northern Europe, ocean forecasting, climate monitoring and detection of greenhouse gas emissions.
“In exchange, EUMETSAT will make available its data to the other agencies.”
Each of the agreements extends and builds upon existing cooperation between the agencies.
“The need for accurate weather forecasting and climate monitoring is a global challenge that no country can meet on its own,” Counet said.
“Through agreements like these, and others that EUMETSAT has with the United States, Russia, Canada and others, we are working together as a global community to meet our shared challenges.”
Agreements will be signed with China’s National Satellite Ocean Application Service, the Korean Meteorological Administration and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency.
In addition, EUMETSAT will sign agreements with the Regional Training Centre for Agrometeorology and Operational Hydrology and their Applications (AGRHYMET Regional Centre) and the African Centre for Meteorological Applications for Development, in Niger.
“EUMETSAT data and products are critical for weather forecasting and climate monitoring in Africa, especially with the upcoming launch of our next-generation geostationary satellite system, Meteosat Third Generation, which will provide a continuous view of the African continent,” Counet said.
“The agencies will use these data for the sustainable development of African socio-economic sectors, for risk management reduction, to prevent desertification, as well as for forecasting and climate monitoring.”
The agreements build on 20 years’ cooperation between EUMETSAT and national meteorological and hydrological services in Africa.
