TerraWatch Space Podcast

#49: EUMETSAT: Monitoring Weather & Climate from Space with Paul Counet, EUMETSAT

Episode Summary

In this episode, I speak with Paul Counet, Head of Strategy and International Relations at EUMETSAT. EUMETSAT (or) The European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites is an intergovernmental organisation with 30 Member States in Europe, with an objective to establish, maintain and exploit European systems of operational meteorological satellites.

Episode Notes

In this episode, I speak with Paul Counet, Head of Strategy and International Relations at EUMETSAT.

EUMETSAT (or)  The European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites is an intergovernmental organisation with 30 Member States in Europe, with an objective to establish, maintain and exploit European systems of operational meteorological satellites. EUMETSAT is one of the key actors that is responsible for maintaining a global meteorological satellite observing system coordinated with a number of other countries.

It is safe to say that EUMETSAT's activities have led to millions of lives being saved and billions of euros of economic damage being avoided, thanks to the data collected by their satellites.

In this episode, Paul and I talk about EUMETSAT, their core activities, their relationship with other European organisations and their relationship with other countries, about Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) satellites, the global gaps in weather observations, the role of the private sector and more.

MTG: https://www.eumetsat.int/meteosat-third-generation

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01:31: Overview of EUMETSAT

04:56: Satellite missions of EUMETSAT

16:34: The relationship with ESA and ECMWF

19:19: Relationships with global weather agencies (US, China)

27:15: About Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) and its impact

35:56: Gaps in observations and the role of the private sector

49:20: Importance of communication in weather 

52:52 Wrap-up