A big step for weather forecasting

Flooded citrus groves are seen on Monday, in Thesprotia, northwestern Greece where farmers said more than 22,000 trees have been destroyed. The heavy rain came as the European Space Agency prepares to launch the first of six satellites in a new system that will provide critical data for weather forecasting. Being launched in French Guiana on Tuesday, the new satellite is also equipped with Europe’s first lightning imager. This, says Kostas Lagouvardos, head of research at the National Observatory of Athens and scientific supervisor of its Meteo weather service, ‘will really help us monitor storms as they happen, with algorithms making it possible to estimate rainfall. It will basically help us make instant forecasts, estimate what will happen in the next two hours, something that is very useful in countries like Greece which do not have an adequate meteorological radar system.’ [AMNA]