The Plitvice Lakes National Park, located in central Croatia, is the country’s oldest and largest national park, spanning nearly 300 square kilometres.  Thanks to its unique formation of tufa (traverine), the park was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979. Though famous for its stunning cascading lakes, these cover just under 1% of the...

Dokkum, located near the Wadden Sea, is a historical city in the province of Friesland in the Netherlands. This UNESCO World Heritage site is known for its dynamic tidal flats and barrier islands. The region is characterised by a mix of agriculture, wetlands, and coastal ecosystems which support diverse wildlife. This image, acquired by one of...

In early February 2025, the world’s sea ice fell to a record low, with the combined Arctic and Antarctic sea ice extent totalling 15.76 million square kilometres. Arctic sea ice has consistently declined for decades, while Antarctic ice, once stable, has entered a new phase of decreasing extents.   This Copernicus Sentinel-3 image, acquired on...

ISPRA | Rome, Italy | Italian

Jan Mayen is a Norwegian island situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, around 600 km northeast of Iceland and 950 km west of Norway. The island, with an area of 373 km2, is home to the world’s northernmost active volcano above sea level, called the Beerenberg.  Its Arctic environment is characterised by cold temperatures, strong winds, and...

2024 saw South America in the grips of a wildfire crisis, with some countries and regions experiencing record-breaking emissions and severe air quality impacts, as highlighted in the annual wildfires review of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS). In addition to the destruction and tragic loss of life and biodiversity, wildfire...

This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image, acquired on 1 February 2025, shows an algal bloom in the Salto Grande reservoir, at the border between Argentina and Uruguay. In early February 2025, Lake Salto Grande was affected by a surge in algae growth. This phenomenon has affected local fauna, including capybaras, which have been observed with their fur...

Romania was affected by its coldest week of the winter between 17 to 24 February 2025. The extreme temperatures, which dropped as low as -20°C in some mountainous regions, were accompanied by heavy snowfall. Authorities issued a yellow weather warning for much of the country’s south and southeast regions, including the capital Bucharest, due to...

This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image, acquired on 20 December 2024, shows the Alam-Pedja Reserve in Estonia. This is one of the project areas of the WoodmeadowLIFE project, an initiative to restore and promote long-term sustainable management of wooded meadows in Estonia and Latvia. These countries contain around 60% of the wooded meadows in the...

This image, acquired by one of the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites on 23 October 2024, shows the Moselle wine region between Luxembourg and Germany.  The rolling hills on the Luxembourg side of the river are covered in terraced vineyards, which support the production of wines such as Riesling, Pinot Gris, and Auxerrois. The fertile soils and...

Spanning nearly 23,000 hectares and located south of Dublin, Wicklow Mountains National Park is the largest of Ireland’s six national parks and the only one in the east. It is also the largest area of continuous high ground in Ireland, with stunning rugged peaks, some of which are among the highest in the country. The park features wide-open...

On 17 February 2025, the Royal Meteorological Institute (RMI) in Belgium recorded the coldest night of the current meteorological winter. In Uccle, the temperature dropped to -4°C, equalling the low observed on the night of 13 to 14 January. Meteorologists at the RMI noted that temperatures below freezing and a general frost were observed...

This false colour Copernicus Sentinel-2 image, acquired on 5 February 2025, shows the meandering course of the Little Danube in Slovakia.  The 126.6 km-long Little Danube is a tributary of the Danube river. It branches off in Bratislava, then flows through a patchwork of agricultural fields and small towns such as Bernolákovo, Tomášov, and...

Air pollution is one of Europe’s most pressing environmental and public health challenges. To ensure the continued growth of Copernicus Earth Observation (EO) data and services, the European Commission is expanding the Copernicus constellation with new satellite missions in 2024 and 2025. Among them, Copernicus Sentinel-4, set to launch in...

Amsterdam Island, part of the UNESCO-listed French Southern and Antarctic Lands, is a remote French territory in the southern Indian Ocean. It is a crucial refuge for biodiversity and home to Martin-de-Viviès, a key climate research station. However, since 15 January 2025, the island has been ravaged by a wildfire that has burned more than half...

On 13 February 2025, a powerful storm struck central Italy, and in particular the island of Elba and inland Tuscany, bringing heavy rainfall, flooding, and landslides. In the province of Grosseto, between the towns of Orbetello and Albinia, many homes were isolated as floodwaters rendered roads impassable. Emergency rescue crews were dispatched...

On Tuesday, DG DEFIS hosted the 7th meeting of the EU Industry and Start-ups Forum on Space Traffic Management (EISF).

This image, acquired by one of the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites on 3 February 2025, shows shipping lanes in the Gulf of Bothnia in the Baltic Sea, near the city of Hailuoto, Finland. In winter, in this area can be complicated as a result of the presence of sea ice, which affects the Gulf of Bothnia for six months in a year on average....

Panevėžys, the fifth-largest city in Lithuania, is an important cultural and economic hub in the country's northeast. Located on the banks of the Nevėžis River, the city is known for its strong industrial heritage and vibrant arts scene. Strategically positioned between the Baltic capitals of Vilnius and Riga, Panevėžys is also a gateway to the...

Located around 200 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle, Kiruna is Sweden’s northernmost municipality, as well as the country’s largest by area.  The region’s diverse terrain includes forests, marshes, lakes, and Sweden’s highest mountain, Kebnekaise, providing ideal locations for a wide range of outdoor activities. The area is also home to...