Each summer, parts of the Baltic Sea display vivid green algal blooms, triggered by sunlight, high temperatures, and abundant nutrients. This image, acquired by a Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite on 21 July 2025, shows widespread algal blooms off the coast of Sweden. The first signs of this event appeared in early July and have steadily...

This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image, acquired on 17 March 2025, shows the flow of the David Glacier as it feeds into the Drygalski Ice Tongue in East Antarctica. Stretching  90 km into the Ross Sea, the ice tongue is one of the largest floating ice extensions in Antarctica. The linear structure of the ice tongue reveals its dynamic forward...

Ouvéa Island, part of the Loyalty Islands in New Caledonia, is renowned for its untouched beauty and ecological richness. Protected as a UNESCO World Heritage site, the island is fringed by one of the world’s most pristine lagoons, home to vibrant coral reefs and endangered species such as dugongs and green sea turtles. The surrounding reef...

On 17 July 2025, a large wildfire broke out in the municipality of Méntrida, located in the province of Toledo, within Spain’s Castilla-La Mancha region.  Driven by strong winds, the fire burnt over 3,000 hectares of land by the end of the day, prompting road closures and the evacuation of residents from nearby areas. Winds carried the smoke...

A wildfire caused by lightning on 4 July spread rapidly across the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, USA, on 11 and 12 July, fanned by strong winds. The fire destroyed several structures, including the National Park Service’s visitor hub and the historic Grand Canyon Lodge on the park’s North Rim. It also prompted the evacuation of...

Situated along the banks of the Danube River, Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and a key cultural, political, and economic hub in Central Europe.  The city blends a rich architectural heritage with dynamic urban life, surrounded by rolling hills, river landscapes, and protected natural areas that connect it closely to its environment.  ...

2025 is shaping up to be a landmark year for the EU Space Programme, with several satellite launches expanding the capabilities of Copernicus and the other EU space components. Among them is the Sentinel-5A instrument, scheduled for launch in August 2025 from Kourou aboard an Ariane 6 rocket. With this launch, the EU solidifies its position as...

This Sentinel-3 image, acquired on 15 July 2025, shows a plume of Saharan dust drifting northwards across the western Mediterranean Sea.  The dust extends from northern Algeria across the Mediterranean Sea towards the Balearic Islands. Fine particles, lifted by strong desert winds, create a broad, dust-laden veil over the sea surface, producing...

DLR | Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany | English

DLR | Oberpfaffenhofen | English

On 7 July 2025, a wildfire broke out near the municipality of Paüls, in the province of Tarragona, Spain. The fire spread rapidly, burning over 3,300 hectares, one-third of which lie within the Parc Natural dels Ports. The blaze prompted lockdowns affecting approximately 18,000 residents in Paüls and neighbouring localities and has led to at...

Accra is the capital of Ghana and one of the fastest-growing urban centres in West Africa. Located along the Gulf of Guinea, Accra serves as a key economic and administrative hub, home to over 5 million residents in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area. The city faces rapid urbanisation, serving as a centre for manufacturing, marketing, finance,...

Located in the central Visayas region, Cebu City is a major hub for commerce, tourism, and education in the Philippines. Bordered by the Cebu Strait to the east, the city's geography is a mix of coastal lowlands and hilly interior terrain. Its strategic coastal location has made it an important port and commercial centre, connecting the central...

The Danish marine ecosystem is affected by algal blooms almost every year. Nutrient-rich water, which can result from warmer water temperatures or from agricultural emissions, creates an environment for algae to thrive.  This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image, acquired on 30 June 2025, shows an algal bloom in the North Sea off the coast of Denmark,...

The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) has published its latest monthly Climate Bulletin, focused on key climate trends in June 2025. The bulletin reports that June 2025 was the third-warmest June globally, with an average ERA5 surface air temperature of 16.46°C, 0.47°C above the 1991-2020 average for June. In Europe, the average...

Food production in Egypt, a largely desert country, has long benefited from the fertile lands along the Nile. In the late 1990s, the ambitious New Valley, or Toshka Project, set out to reclaim desert land for agricultural usage by channelling water from Lake Nasser into the Western Desert, which is part of the Sahara. The different colours in...

Climate change affects the whole planet, making environmental monitoring more crucial than ever. In order to track its effects, EUMETSAT is collaborating with the European Commission on five new Copernicus satellite missions focusing on atmosphere monitoring and polar-cryosphere monitoring, while continuing to work together on two existing...

The presentation titled “Where is Snow? Exploring Open Research Data for a Knowledge-Based Society” focused on the role of open research data in driving digital transformation.

The Skeiðarárjökull glacier in southern Iceland plays a key role in the region’s hydrological cycle. As an outlet glacier of Vatnajökull, it is closely monitored due to its repeated history of glacial outburst floods, which have shaped the surrounding landscape. The glacier’s retreat is visible in these Copernicus Sentinel-2 images, acquired on...