The outlook for meteorology
Everybody knows the sayings often heard throughout the year, which invariably reflect the close interest we have always taken in the weather. And as record viewing figures for today’s television forecasts show, our relationship with the weather has changed little: we talk constantly about the weather today, yet we are already wondering what it will be like tomorrow.
Television forecasts. Crédits : TF/C.Chevalin
After centuries of weather lore and empirical deductions, we now employ more rational weather forecasting methods and satellite data have become a vital element of the forecaster’s toolkit.
Yet the public perhaps no longer gives a second thought to the sophistication of the space technologies that go into making modern-day weather bulletins. In fact, space science paved the way for the first meteorology experiments as far back as 1959.
MSG satellite (Meteosat Second Generation) ; crédits : CNES/D.Ducros
While weather forecasts have improved significantly in the last 20 years, our expectations have evolved in equal measure. So, what advances have we made in recent years? And what are the current limits of meteorological science?
Iasi instrument during tests. Crédits : Alcatel Alenia Space/J-L. Bazile
MetOp and IASI are the forerunners of a new generation of space-based tools set to enter service this summer. How will they enhance weather observations? What can we expect them to achieve? They won’t actually shape the weather, of course, but they should help us to forecast it earlier and more accurately than we can today.
| Fact file |
| Climatology and meteorology – What’s the difference? Although the scope of climatology and meteorology often coincides, their aims differ. Climatology studies climate and its long-term evolution, whereas meteorology focuses on atmospheric phenomena in an effort to forecast the weather. At the same time, meteorology helps to protect people and property, while also providing tools for climatologists. |
More about...
IASI, for an accurate and reliable weather forecast
Meteosat/MSG, the European weather observation satellite
Weather: can we trust 7-day forecats?
From Cnes Magazine. Interview by Evelyne Dhéliat, figurehead forecaster on French TV channel TF1.
Meteosat/MSG, the European weather observation satellite
Weather: can we trust 7-day forecats?
From Cnes Magazine. Interview by Evelyne Dhéliat, figurehead forecaster on French TV channel TF1.
