Image of the week: Lightning Imager’s data debut in time for storm season

Watching our Earth from space

Lightning activity from the 6 to the 8 July 2024, observed by the lightning Imager on board MTG-I1. Each “flash” displays the accumulated lightning activity over 5 minutes, overlaid on the MTG-I1 background image.

Last Updated

10 July 2024

Published on

09 July 2024

The Lightning Imager on MTG-I1 has four cameras with fields of view covering Europe, Africa, the Middle East, parts of South America and most of the Atlantic Ocean.

EUMETSAT has begun disseminating the data to weather services in its member states and other users on the 9 July 2024. Crucially, EUMETSAT is delivering the data to weather services in Africa and other regions where lightning detection capability with ground-based observations is limited.

The dissemination is currently pre-operational. This means that, although the quality of the data is the same as that of operational data, there could be some disruptions for testing or software upgrades, for example.