Sharper observations for faster warnings in Eastern Europe, the Western Balkans and the Caucasus
EUMETSAT has delivered the new data reception stations for the Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) satellites to national weather agencies in Eastern Europe, the Western Balkans and the Caucasus. As the stations progressively enter service, the stations will give forecasters direct access to MTG data, helping them monitor fast-developing storms more closely and issue more timely warnings to protect lives and property.
The stations are now being gradually installed and brought into operation by the agencies. This is the start of a rollout that will progressively benefit 11 participating national meteorological and hydrological services (NMHSs) across 10 countries: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo*, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Ukraine.
MTG is the new generation of the Meteosat satellites whose data the region’s weather services have received for more than a decade. It delivers more frequent, higher-resolution observations than the current Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) satellites, along with new capabilities to detect lightning and to measure temperature and humidity at different levels of the atmosphere. The new stations will also continue to receive MSG data, supporting a smooth transition from MSG to MTG.
These new capabilities are particularly valuable for monitoring rapidly developing storms, whose timing, location and intensity can be difficult to predict, even with the most advanced weather models. By combining near-real-time satellite observations with radar and other weather data, forecasters can track how storms develop, refine short-term forecasts and issue more timely and accurate warnings.
“Timely access to high-quality satellite data is essential for every weather service,” said Vincent Gabaglio, International Relations Officer at EUMETSAT. “By working closely with the national weather services of our neighbouring countries in the Balkans and the wider Black Sea region, we want to help forecasters make full use of Meteosat Third Generation to protect their citizens. This rollout builds on more than 15 years of cooperation, and we look forward to continuing it with our partners, the European Union and the World Meteorological Organization.”
The new stations are part of EUMETSAT’s Data Access for Western Balkan, Eastern European and Caucasian Countries (DAWBEE) project, launched in 2009 to give neighbouring weather services that are not EUMETSAT Member States direct, operational access to EUMETSAT satellite data. Working with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), EUMETSAT installed the first reception stations in 2011 and upgraded them in 2019. The new generation of stations, developed under the DAWBEE-MTG project launched in 2023, will support reception of MTG data into the mid-2040s.
