News

The launch of the Metop-C satellite, scheduled for 7 November 2018, will ensure the continuous supply of crucial data to help initialise numerical weather prediction models for years to come. Having three Metop satellites in orbit will open the door to innovative uses of the data.

ECMWF is now accepting applications for its 2019 training courses. The programme includes courses on ECMWF forecast products, software packages and applications and on numerical weather prediction (NWP).

Nineteen speakers presented progress and challenges in Earth system data assimilation at ECMWF’s Annual Seminar from 10 to 13 September 2018. More than a hundred participants attended this flagship event in ECMWF’s calendar.

The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service implemented by ECMWF has released a new global reanalysis of atmospheric composition for the period 2003–2016.

ECMWF’s Annual Seminar on ‘Earth system assimilation’ opened on 10 September. One of the speakers at the four-day event, ECMWF scientist Dinand Schepers, trained as an aerospace engineer before moving into Earth observations and their assimilation into Earth system models.

A group of scientists writing in Nature, including ECMWF's Vincent-Henri Peuch, have called for international action to improve air-quality forecasts worldwide to help reduce the death toll from air pollution. In a comment paper, they propose improvements in the areas of monitoring, modelling, interpretation, dissemination and training.

ECMWF supports the national meteorological services of its Member and Co-operating States and other users by providing them with state-of-the-art global weather predictions. A product launched in June enables users to visualise atmospheric conditions from the ground up to the lower stratosphere anywhere in the world.

The Aeolus satellite was launched successfully by the European Space Agency from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on 22 August 2018. The mission is expected to improve weather forecasts by providing vital information on winds across the globe.

The first seven months of 2018 at ECMWF have seen a major upgrade of the Integrated Forecasting System; a series of events to drive forward numerical weather prediction; the launch of the Climate Data Store; and the appointment of a new Director of Computing.

The summer 2018 issue of the ECMWF Newsletter is now available. As well as news about ECMWF staff and events, it features articles about new developments and the use that can be made of ECMWF products.