The imagery represents data from the European Union’s (EU) Copernicus program and shows the high temperatures — particularly in the regions of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany.
Paris recently hit a peak of 105 degrees Fahrenheit (41 degrees Celsius), breaking a record set in 1947, according to a statement released by the European Space Agency.
Feeling the CopernicusEU Sentinel3 compares today’s land surface temperature in parts of Europe and North Africa, with 26 June 2019 at the height of this year’s first #heatwave.
Read more: 8tsPfn8CJ9
— ESA (@esa) July 25, 2019
The map was generated using the Copernicus Sentinel-3’s Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer. Because weather forecasts use predicted air temperatures, the Sentinel-3 satellite measures the real amount of energy radiating from Earth.
The satellite’s map is actually a better reflection of the real temperature of the land surface. Clouds are visible in white in the image, while the light blue represents snow-covered areas.
In this latest heatwave, not only did France break old records, but Germany, Hungary, Poland, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia also reached peak temperatures.
Copernicus program overview
Copernicus is the EU’s Earth observation program coordinated and managed by the European Commission in partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA), the EU Member States and EU Agencies. Copernicus was established in 2014.
The whole objective of the program was to make use of global data from satellites, and ground-based, airborne and seaborne measurement systems to produce accurate and timely information, services and knowledge on the “health” of the planet.
Copernicus data is free of charge to users and covers six main areas of interest: atmosphere, marine, land, climate, emergency, and security.
The ESA’s Sentinel-3 Mission
The ESA as the main partner has performed much of the design and oversees and co-funds the development of the Sentinel missions – 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 with each Sentinel mission consisting of at least 2 satellites and some, such as Sentinel 1, made up of 4 satellites.
The first Sentinel-3 satellite was launched on January 16, 2016, by a Eurockot Rokot vehicle from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia. Sentinel-3’s main mission is to measure sea-surface topography, sea and land surface temperature, and ocean and land surface color with high accuracy and reliability to support ocean forecasting systems, environmental monitoring, and climate monitoring.
The Sentinel-3 satellite’s payload consists of the following:
*a push-broom imaging spectrometer instrument called the Ocean and Land Colour Instrument (OLCI)
*a dual view (near-nadir and backward views) conical imaging radiometer called the Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer (SLSTR) instrument
*a dual-frequency SAR altimeter called the SAR Radar Altimeter (SRAL) instrument
*a Microwave Radiometer (MWR) instrument, supporting the SRAL in achieving overall altimeter mission performance by providing wet atmosphere correction
*a Precise Orbit Determination package including a Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) instrument, a Doppler Orbit determination, and Radio-positioning Integrated on Satellite (DORIS) instrument and a Laser Retro-Reflector (LRR).*
The importance of satellite monitoring
We all know that the Earth goes through natural cycles of warming and cooling and an isolated weather event really can’t be blamed on climate change. That being said, current warming trends and other climatic events are being driven by unprecedented and human-caused changes in the levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide.
The last time the Earth experienced a fast warming period was 10,000 years ago – known as the Paleo-Eocene Thermal Maximum. This most recent period took only 150 years. Think about that for a moment.
However, we do have technology on our side today, in the form of satellites that track the most minute changes in temperature on the land, sea and in the atmosphere. These satellites send imagery and other data back to Earth so that we can issue warnings. Without them, things could be a lot scarier.
