Space-based lightning detector predicts thunderstorms – 7/6/2023 – Environment

A new space-based detector capable of predicting severe storms has been lauded by meteorologists after the first spectacular observations were released showing lightning flashing many times a second over Europe and Africa.

The imager of Europe’s Meteosat Third Generation satellite, launched last December, detects all lightning activity —in and between clouds and their impacts on the ground—from its geostationary orbit 36,000 kilometers above the equator, over central Africa. .

“Severe thunderstorms are often preceded by abrupt changes in lightning activity,” said Phil Evans, director general of Eumetsat, the European weather satellite agency that operates Meteosat. “By observing these changes in activity, the lightning imager data will give meteorologists additional confidence in their predictions of severe storms.”

Such storms have caused an estimated 500 billion euros ($1.5 trillion) in damage over the past 40 years in Europe alone, Eumetsat said, and are becoming more frequent as a result of climate change. Advances in sensing technology will help authorities better protect lives and livelihoods from extreme weather events, Evans said in a report that presented the images on Monday.

The western hemisphere already has a lightning detection system provided by US NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) satellites, which the US National Weather Service uses to predict intense storms. The data feeds a LightningCast alert model that incorporates artificial intelligence-based algorithms to predict storm activity.

According to its developer, Italian aerospace company Leonardo, Eumetsat’s new system has higher resolution and performance than its American counterpart launched in 2016.

“The lightning catcher has four cameras, and each one can capture a thousand images per second, day and night, detecting even a single lightning strike in 0.6 milliseconds – faster than the blink of an eye,” said Guia Pastorini, manager of Leonardo project engineering.

AI-based analysis reduces the amount of data transmitted back to Earth by more than 1,000 times, rejecting everything not directly related to lightning. “Thanks to specific algorithms, data is processed on board to send only useful information,” she said.

Lightning kills several thousand people a year around the world – mostly in tropical regions. It is important meteorologically as an indicator of severe storms, with heavy rains and strong winds, which cause more damage.

“Above all, it’s about protecting lives and livelihoods by allowing meteorologists to track the development of severe storms and provide greater timeframe to alert authorities and communities,” Evans said.

Eumetsat does not directly issue storm warnings, but provides data to national weather services that alert the public, businesses and local authorities.

Gary Fowler, Eumetsat’s instrument manager, hopes the observations will be particularly useful for meteorological services in central Africa, which has one of the highest levels of lightning activity in the world but limited facilities for ground observations.

The MTGI1 satellite provides images of clouds and weather systems, as well as lightning, further enhancing its forecasting capabilities. The commissioning phase will run until early 2024, when it will be fully operational. It is the first of three satellites in the planned €4.6 billion Third Generation Meteosat system, scheduled for completion in 2026.