Landing in Geneva, Switzerland, on October 3, 4 & 5, this year’s Meteorological Technology World Expo is the industry event of the year! Don’t miss out on the most comprehensive showcase of weather prediction and forecasting innovations by 150+ exhibitors from 20+ countries.

This year will also see the World Meteorological Organization Infrastructure Commission (INFCOM) Forum on Advancing the Environmental Sustainability of Observing Systems and Methods, which will focus primarily on meteorological and marine observational domains and will kick off with stage-setting presentations and a virtual workshop on Tuesday, October 3.

What’s more, a free-to-attend Open Technology Forum will be staged in the exhibition hall on all three days of the expo.

Continue reading The world’s most important meteorological event of the year – opens next week! at Meteorological Technology International.

According to a multi-agency report coordinated by the WMO, at the half-time point of the 2030 Agenda, the science is clear – the planet is far from meeting its climate goals. This undermines global efforts to tackle hunger, poverty and ill-health, improve access to clean water and energy, and many other aspects of sustainable development.

Only 15% of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are on track, says the United in Science report, which makes a systematic examination of the impact of climate change and extreme weather on those goals. It illustrates how weather-, climate- and water-related sciences can advance aims such as food and water security, clean energy, better health, sustainable oceans and resilient cities.

Continue reading VIDEO: Climate change undermines nearly all sustainable development goals at Meteorological Technology International.

GOES-U, the fourth and final satellite in NOAA’s GOES-R Series of advanced geostationary satellites, has now completed environmental testing ahead of its launch into space.

The environmental testing program, which spanned nearly a year, concluded with the electromagnetic interference and electromagnetic compatibility (EMI/EMC) testing, conducted in August 2023. EMI/EMC testing ensures that spacecraft functions are not affected by various types of electromagnetic radiation during operations.

GOES-U completed shock testing in March 2023, which confirmed the satellite will be able to withstand the shocks encountered during separation from the launch vehicle and deployment of the satellite’s solar panels.

Continue reading NOAA’s GOES-U satellite completes environmental testing ahead of launch at Meteorological Technology International.

During the late spring and summer of 2023, several devastating wildfires have been affecting most of the provinces and territories of Canada. First detected in May, these wildfires have been ongoing in several locations, causing great human and material loss, in addition to severely affecting air quality not only in Canada but across other regions of North America.

According to the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) global forecasts and analyses, which assimilate satellite observations of atmospheric composition, some of the plumes of smoke produced by these wildfires also reached Europe.

The extent, persistence and intensity of these wildfires have led to the total estimated emissions of carbon emissions for 2023 to be almost 410 megatons, the highest for Canada by a wide margin in the CAMS data set.

Continue reading Record-breaking wildfires throughout the 2023 boreal wildfire season at Meteorological Technology International.

Ball Aerospace has concluded testing on the Weather System Follow-on – Microwave (WSF-M) satellite, representing the completion of the first of two satellites being delivered for the US Space Force’s Space Systems Command next-generation operational environmental satellite system.

WSF-M will provide the US Department of Defense with critical data meant to fill gaps in existing space-based environmental monitoring, such as the speed and direction of ocean winds, tropical cyclone intensity, ice thickness, snow depth and soil moisture. The satellite is scheduled to launch early next year from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

Hope Damphousse, vice president, Strategic Operations, Ball Aerospace, said, “The completion of the WSF-M satellite is an important milestone in Ball Aerospace’s ongoing mission to protect what matters most.

Continue reading Ball Aerospace completes testing on Space Systems Command operational weather satellite at Meteorological Technology International.

The US National Science Foundation (NSF) has renewed its agreement with the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) to continue managing the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) for another five years.

UCAR, a consortium of 122 North American colleges and universities, has managed NCAR since its inception in 1960. NCAR provides resources and support to the university community to bolster scientific discovery, including research aircraft, ground-based instrumentation, open-source community models, high-performance computing, education and training, and more.

Alexandra Isern, assistant director for NSF’s Directorate for Geosciences, said, “NSF is pleased to renew its commitment to UCAR in the management of NCAR, advancing the frontiers of Earth system science research.

Continue reading UCAR renews agreement to continue managing NCAR at Meteorological Technology International.

The UK government has announced that the UK will associate with Copernicus, the European Earth Observation program in which the UK has been prominent since its inception. It is a system of satellites, which with the support of in-situ measurements and models, delivers data sets that inform us about our changing planet at both global and local levels.

The National Centre for Earth Observation has welcomed this announcement, stating, “It is a hugely valuable step for the UK community, enabling scientific experts to contribute fully with the Copernicus system of satellites and the datasets that increasingly provide public benefit.

Continue reading UK rejoins Copernicus Earth observation program at Meteorological Technology International.

A new study led by the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) has demonstrated how shallow, drained peatland cultivated for grass silage becomes a source of carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide.

The study found that emissions were triggered by various weather events and different agricultural practices, and that nitrous oxide emissions were twice as high during a warm winter than during a cold winter.

For the first time, the researchers continuously measured nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions with the Eddy Covariance technique from a drained peatland cultivated for grass. Carbon dioxide (CO₂) exchange between the atmosphere and the vegetation and soil was also measured simultaneously.

Continue reading Peatland cultivated for grass silage identified as a source of CO₂ and N₂O at Meteorological Technology International.

EUMETSAT has for the first time combined preliminary data captured by the two main instruments on board its MTG-I1 satellite, the Flexible Combined Imager (FCI) and the Lightning Imager (LI), to highlight their synergies.

“These animations demonstrate how the combination of the two instruments will revolutionize nowcasting and the monitoring of severe thunderstorms,” said Phil Evans, director-general, EUMETSAT. “I am extremely impressed and am looking forward to the innovative applications that will stem from these data after they become operational.”

The high-resolution visible and infrared channels of the FCI allow the precise observation and characterization of clouds and thunderstorms during the day and night, while the LI instrument detects lightning activity as an indicator of strong atmospheric turbulence and convection.

Continue reading EUMETSAT unveils detailed storm animation captured by combined MTG-I1 instrumentation at Meteorological Technology International.

US space agency NASA, on behalf of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has awarded four contracts to conduct the Phase-A study for NOAA’s Sounder for Microwave-Based Applications (SMBA).

The firm-fixed-price contracts allow for a Phase A definition study and design development as part of SMBA formulation activities. The period of performance runs 12 months.

NOAA’s Near-Earth Orbit Network (NEON) program is responsible for SMBA instruments, the next generation of low-Earth orbit (LEO) microwave sounders. Microwave sounders provide critical data on the physical properties of the atmosphere, such as temperature and moisture, which heavily influence weather patterns and enable the NOAA National Weather Service’s numerical weather models to forecast weather three days in the future and beyond.

Continue reading NASA awards study contracts for NOAA’s next-gen low-Earth orbit sounders at Meteorological Technology International.