EUMETSAT says its commitment to the African meteorological community has been matched by delivery: the first PUMA-2025 reception station was installed two years ago, and the full network of 56 stations is now in place, with the processing chain that turns Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) data into forecaster-ready products fully operational. About 150 meteorologists, scientists and representatives from across the continent are meeting in Eswatini for a five-day User Forum in Africa, organised by EUMETSAT and the Eswatini Meteorological Service, to share their first operational experience with MTG data.

Weather stations are sparse in many parts of Africa, so satellites are often forecasters’ most complete source of information. MTG delivers a new image of Africa every 10 minutes, compared with every 15 minutes from the previous generation of Meteosat satellites, letting forecasters see fast-changing weather such as storm development sooner and in greater detail; MTG also provides lightning observations, which EUMETSAT says are critical both for alerting communities to extreme weather and for warning where people or infrastructure may be at risk from severe storms and lightning strikes. The forum opened as Africa prepares for a potentially very strong El Niño event, with floods, drought and far-reaching impacts on livelihoods expected across the continent; in its opening days, participants welcomed a joint declaration calling for reliable satellite observations, effective early-warning tools, and the infrastructure and expertise to turn data into information that protects lives and livelihoods. “MTG is no longer a future promise for Africa. It is now in the hands of forecasters across the continent,” said Phil Evans, Director-General of EUMETSAT. “With the PUMA reception station network now fully deployed, every African national meteorological service can access this new generation of observations. This shows what sustained partnership between the African Union Commission, the European Union, EUMETSAT and African meteorological services can achieve.”

HOW THE DATA REACHES USERS

MTG data and products are distributed through EUMETSAT’s EUMETCast Africa service to the 56 reception stations at national meteorological services and regional centres across the continent. The stations were first deployed under the EU-funded ClimSA programme, and the Strengthening Early Warning in Africa (SEWA) project, a component of the Africa-EU Space Partnership Programme funded by the European Union under its Global Gateway strategy and jointly led by EUMETSAT, the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and the African Union Commission, is building on these investments to further develop African capacity to process satellite imagery and raise early warnings. During the week, participants are also discussing early warnings for severe weather, climate services, hydrology, air quality, and the use of satellite data in agriculture and renewable energy. EUMETSAT has worked with African meteorological and hydrological services for more than three decades on satellite data, products and training, and the forum’s outcomes will guide the next phase of that cooperation.