The main purpose of EUMETSAT is to develop, maintain and exploit the system of European meteorological satellites that continuously transmit data on the processes taking place in the world climate. On a larger scale, EUMETSAT monitors the planet’s climate and environmental condition, as well as the changes in them. “Estonia has been EUMETSAT’s Cooperating State since 2007 and now we became a full Member State of this organisation. It is important for us, since as a full member of EUMETSAT, Estonia will have an opportunity to participate and have its say in shaping the methodology and policy of meteorology in Europe,” Minister of the Environment Keit Pentus said. “As a full member, Estonia will become a co-owner of the EUMETSAT’s satellites, providing us with many new possibilities. For example, thanks to the satellite information, Estonian weather forecasters will soon have more accurate information on what is going on in the atmosphere, enabling them to assess the current weather conditions much more accurately than by only relying on the terrestrial observations. The additional information received from satellites, such as the altitude of clouds, location of thunderclouds, etc., is very important for aviation meteorology, making it possible to warn pilots of dangerous phenomena. Several meteorological elements measured from satellites are important for developing weather forecast models and increasing their accuracy,” Pentus noted. According to the Minister of the Environment, the satellite data of EUMETSAT are important not only for forecasting weather, but also for solving several environmental problems, such as monitoring the movements of oil spills or assessing the production volumes and wind energy network loads.
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