Knowledge New satellite delivers first images for better weather forecasts
The new "Meteosat Third Generation Sounder" weather satellite has sent its first images to Earth. The images are intended to help predict weather extremes such as severe storms more precisely in future. Also in Switzerland.
27.01.2026, 11:58
SDA
The European Space Agency (ESA) presented the images on Tuesday at the European Space Conference in Brussels. They come from the Meteosat Third Generation-Sounder (MTG-S) satellite, which was launched into space in July 2025.
The satellite images, which were taken at an altitude of around 36,000 kilometers above the earth, show the temperatures on the earth's surface and on the top of clouds, the humidity. Other images show the humidity in the atmosphere.
"We expect the data from this mission to change the way we predict severe storms over Europe," said ESA Director of Earth Observation Programs Simonetta Cheli in a statement released by ESA on the publication of the images. The satellite provides new data on temperature and humidity for Europe and parts of North Africa every 30 minutes. This should help meteorologists to forecast the development of severe storms more accurately.
Switzerland also benefits
Switzerland will also benefit from the data, the Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology (MeteoSwiss) announced after the satellite was launched in July. Although the data from the new satellite will not be processed directly by MeteoSwiss in the initial phase, it will be incorporated into the models of the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. "It is expected that this will further improve the forecast quality, from which all European weather services - including Switzerland - will benefit indirectly," says MeteoSwiss.
In future, it is also likely that the data will be incorporated into MeteoSwiss's short-term forecasting systems.
