With the help of technology, the damage caused by global warming may decrease in the near future — or, at least, may be predicted with enough time to anticipate actions to prevent damage from heavy rains. Europe has unveiled a satellite that warns forecasters earlier about short-term storms and floods on the continent and in Africa, reports Forbes.
The equipment is expected to be launched by the end of this year to predict climate instability in this region. MTG-I1 is the first of a new generation of satellites: costing 4 billion euros, it is the result of 12 years of cooperation between the European Space Agency (ESA) and 30 countries.
According to the ESA, the announcement marks the development of the third generation of Meteostat satellites, which will be responsible for geostationary orbit meteorology for the next two decades.
What's different about this satellite?
MTG equipment offers significant improvements in image quality compared to the previous generation. With improved real-time lightning imaging and an innovative infrared sound engine, it detects the formation of severe thunderstorms earlier.
To get an idea of the power of the satellites, Carlo Simoncelli, lightning imaging manager at Leonardo, explains that “the lightning imager is capable of detecting lightning as fast as the blink of an eye, lasting 6 milliseconds — and occurring at such a long distance that it is similar to watching your favorite series three kilometers from the television ”.
In addition to the MTG-I1, responsible for generating images, which will come into operation later this year, three more similar pieces of equipment will be launched in the future, in addition to two other MTG-S, which capture sound.
