In the past week, Japan suffered one of the most severe cold spells of the season due to an unusually cold weather formation, which caused heavy snowfall across large parts of the country. The intense storm heavily impacted transport networks, as vehicles and local trains were blocked by the snow with thousands of people inside and flights had...

On 24 January heavy snowfall fell in northwest Algeria, on the peaks of the Bèchar Province, on the edge of the Sahara Desert. This image, acquired on 25 January 2023 by one of the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites, shows the snow-capped peaks and the town of Benzireg. Snowfalls are very rare in the Sahara because of the high temperatures, and...

After an unusually warm start of the winter season characterised by the lack of significant snowfall, in the past few days a massive snowstorm covered the peaks of central and southern Italy with snow. Several municipalities in inland Italian have been heavily affected, and local schools have been closed for a few days in order to prevent...

On 23 January, a massive iceberg, of 1,550 km2 (close to the size of the island of Gran Canaria or of Greater London), has calved from the Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica. This image was acquired on 20 and 24 January by one of the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites and shows the newly formed iceberg, named Chasm1, floating in the Weddell Sea....

A recent study published by the Nature journal has revealed that temperatures in Greenland have been higher in recent decades than in any other period in the past 1,000 years. The study analysed data from ice cores and reconstructed temperatures in Greenland going back to 1,000 AD. Results indicate that current temperatures are on average 1.5°C...

Until December 2022, California's reservoirs remained below capacity. However, although there were storms in December, the above-average temperatures resulted in heavy rainfall rather than the usual snowfall, which contributed to improve the hydrological situation. In January 2023, steady snowfall in the Sierra Nevada region led to...

On 16 January, one of the Copernicus Sentinel-3 satellites captured this image, which shows a rare tropical cyclone that had formed in mid-January in the northern Atlantic Ocean. This is an unusual occurrence for this time of year, as the Atlantic hurricane season typically spans from June to November. The storm developed off the northeast...

Iceberg B-22a was formed in 2001, when it calved from the ice shelf formed by the Thwaites glacier in West Antarctica and started floating in the Amundsen Sea. In 2022 and 2023, it started moving towards the northwest and drifted by about 112 kilometres, 21 of which were covered between December 2022 and January 2023. This image was acquired by...

Latvia is at risk of being affected by the worst flooding episode since 1981 due to an ice jam in the Daugava River. The ice jam is affecting the normal flow of the river, causing the water level to rise and threatening to flood large areas in central Latvia. The Copernicus Emergency Management Service (CEMS) has been activated (EMSR644) to map...

Fiji, an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, is facing a grave threat from climate change. Rising sea levels are affecting several coastal villages, with predictions that more than 600 communities could be forced to relocate in the coming years. This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image, acquired on the 19 of December 2022, shows the southern part of...

California is going through a prolonged period of extreme weather, causing floods, mudslides, and evacuations. At least 19 casualties have been reported. This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image of 14 January 2023 shows flooded areas in Glenn county, in central California. Officials warn that more rainfall is expected in the coming days and advise...

This image, acquired by the Copernicus Sentinel-1A satellite on 12 January 2023, provides evidence of  the absence of sea ice south of the Svalbard archipelago. According to the climate bulletin issued by the Copernicus Climate Change Service, December 2022 was the seventh warmest December on record. Additionally, the Arctic Sea ice extent for...

In 2022, Europe saw extremely high temperatures and a continuous rise in the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. According to the Global Climate Highlights for 2022, recently published by the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) which is implemented by ECMWF, many temperature records were broken. The summer season in 2022...

The skies of Northern India are currently engulfed in a thick layer of fog, making for low visibility conditions and causing major disruptions to travel. The dense fog, visible in this image taken by the Copernicus Sentinel-3 satellite, has resulted in flight delays and cancellations at airports in the region, as well as delays for trains. Many...

January 2023 has kicked off the new year with a significant heatwave affecting Europe. In addition to the record-breaking warm temperatures, snowfall was also sparse in both the Alps and the Pyrenees, leaving several ski resorts with little or no snow. The difference in snow cover is visible when comparing these images, acquired by one of the...

In Iceland, last month was the coldest December since 1974, with temperature anomalies up to 15°C below average. Along with the extremely cold temperatures, heavy snowfall affected the island. The extreme weather conditions caused severe disruptions in transport, with several flights being cancelled at the end of the month. On 1 January 2023,...

An eruptive episode of the Etna volcano started in mid-December 2022, with the formation of a new vent at an altitude of approximately 2,800 meters. The lava flow, which is visible in the Copernicus Sentinel-2 images from 20, 23, 25 December 2022, and 2 January 2023, has now travelled more than 1.5 kilometres away from the new vent. This...

The new year has started with a historic heatwave affecting Europe, with many countries observing the warmest temperature on record for 1 January. Hundreds of temperature records have been broken and summer-like temperatures have prevailed in numerous cities across the continent. This image, acquired by one of the Copernicus Sentinel-2...