Europe’s meteorological services are set to gain a powerful new tool for tracking severe weather with the planned launch of the Meteosat Third Generation Imager 2 (MTG-I2) satellite.

EUMETSAT, Europe’s meteorological satellite agency, confirmed this week that MTG-I2 will launch in 2026 on an Ariane 62 rocket from the European spaceport in French Guiana. Once in orbit 36,000km above Earth, the satellite will deliver rapid-scan imagery of Europe every two and a half minutes, twice as fast as the current service.

The satellite’s Flexible Combined Imager will allow meteorologists to spot thunderstorms, fog, dust plumes and other hazards earlier and to monitor their development in near real time. This is expected to significantly improve short-term forecasts, known as nowcasts, which underpin early warnings for dangerous conditions.

“Extreme weather has cost European countries at least 85,000 lives and hundreds of billions of euros over the past four decades,” said Phil Evans, Director-General of EUMETSAT. “The rapid scanning provided by MTG-I2 will be invaluable for nowcasting dangerous conditions. Data from the satellite will help track the full life cycle of severe storms, from their formation to dissipation.”

The agency said the satellite will complete the constellation of Meteosat Third Generation satellites while also serving as a backup for the current Meteosat-12.

The launch announcement follows EUMETSAT’s approval of an updated service agreement with Arianespace at a meeting in Darmstadt, Germany.

Ireland, along with the other 29 member states of EUMETSAT, will have access to the satellite’s high-resolution data, which are considered critical to protecting lives, property and key sectors of the economy in an era of more frequent and intense weather extremes linked to climate change.