The European meteorological organisation EUMETSAT has launched a new weather satellite from French Guiana (a French overseas territory on the northeastern coast of South America), the second of its current generation following an earlier launch in December 2022. Positioned 36,000 kilometres above the equator, the van-sized satellite will monitor clouds, storms, water vapour, dust, and smoke over Europe and Africa, sending imagery every 2.5 minutes and detecting lightning activity inside clouds before it reaches the ground — allowing forecasters to issue earlier warnings. The launch comes as climate change increases the frequency of extreme rainfall and thunderstorms, and data from the satellite is also expected to improve long-term climate modelling over time.