Meteorologists use satellites to forecast the weather because they allow them to observe atmospheric phenomena over large areas, providing real-time images and crucial data to analyze and anticipate future weather conditions.
Weather satellites orbit the Earth all day long, continuously monitoring the entire planet. From their vantage point hundreds of kilometers above, they regularly capture comprehensive images of our planet. With these snapshots, they observe the movements of air masses, the development of cloud systems, and even storms forming over the open sea. This constant overview provides a clear and immediate understanding of the weather everywhere, including in remote areas where scientists otherwise have limited access. In short, without satellites, it would be impossible to have such comprehensive, simultaneous, and continuous observation of the weather on Earth.
Weather satellites constantly monitor our planet from space, allowing them to detect potentially dangerous phenomena such as hurricanes, storms, or typhoons very early on. Thanks to the sensors they carry, they quickly detect the formation and evolution of large thunderclouds, violent winds, or unusual disturbances in the atmosphere. As a result, meteorologists receive alerts much earlier than before, enabling them to effectively warn the affected areas and help residents prepare or evacuate if necessary. This valuable advance in information can simply save lives.
Satellites constantly measure key information, such as temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, and wind speed. Thanks to their well-placed sensors in orbit, they provide hyper-accurate readings almost instantly. This allows meteorologists to have fresh data on hand to better understand the current state of our atmosphere — useful when weather conditions change rapidly. These real-time measurements are then directly used to refine forecasts, making daily weather reports much more reliable.
Satellites provide valuable data to numerical weather models because they feed these complex calculations with real observations: temperatures, winds, humidity, and cloud cover. A lot of recent and detailed data is exactly what's needed for these models to become more reliable. The result: forecasts that increasingly match reality and are capable of anticipating small changes as well as big storms with a few hours or even several days in advance. Without this constant satellite information, even the most advanced calculations would be a bit like a recipe without fresh ingredients: it wouldn't work as well.
Weather satellites make it easy to observe our planet over very long periods. Thanks to these archives of satellite images, scientists study the evolution of the climate over several years or decades. They track, for example, the melting of glaciers and sea ice, changes in vegetation cover, rising ocean levels, and even changes in the intensity of the seasons. This data is valuable for understanding the actual pace of global warming and its practical consequences on our daily lives.
Thanks to geostationary satellites positioned about 36,000 km from the Earth, meteorologists obtain continuous images of the same geographical area every 10 to 15 minutes, which is essential for monitoring the rapid development of storms.
Modern weather satellites use infrared sensors capable of providing accurate temperature data, even at night and through clouds, thus enabling continuous monitoring of climatic phenomena.
Some weather satellites monitor the health of forests and crops by analyzing vegetation, providing valuable information to farmers to improve yields and anticipate droughts.
The use of weather satellites saves thousands of human lives each year by allowing for the advance prediction of hurricanes, storms, and other dangerous weather phenomena.
Satellite data accumulated over several decades provide scientists with a long-term view of global climate variations, helping to clearly identify trends such as Arctic ice melt, sea level rise, the overall increase in land and ocean temperatures, as well as changes in precipitation and vegetation cover.
Although satellites provide crucial and real-time data on the atmosphere and the Earth's surface, perfect weather forecasting remains impossible. Satellites significantly enhance the accuracy of short-term forecasts (up to a few days), but various natural uncertainties and the limitations of numerical models make absolute reliability impossible over longer periods.
Satellites can identify the early signs of a hurricane by continuously observing the oceans, monitoring cloud systems, sea surface temperatures, and atmospheric circulation. This ongoing surveillance allows meteorologists to detect the formation and movement of hurricanes early enough, providing valuable warning and preparation time for the affected populations.
Meteorological satellites typically carry a variety of instruments such as radiometers, which detect atmospheric temperature and humidity; spectrometers that measure the chemical composition of the atmosphere; infrared and visible imagers that analyze cloud systems and precipitation; as well as altimetric radars to measure ocean surfaces and winds.
Weather satellites generally orbit within two main altitude categories: geostationary satellites placed about 36,000 kilometers above the equator, remaining fixed relative to a specific point on Earth, and polar or low Earth orbit satellites, located at altitudes between approximately 700 and 850 kilometers, capable of observing various regions of our planet several times a day.
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