February marks the peak of summer in Antarctica, providing the opportunity to observe unusual phenomena affecting the continent's ice. On 16 February, one of the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites captured a rare image of green-tinged sea ice due to a phytoplankton bloom in the Ross Sea. In 2017, the same phenomenon of green ice was observed in...

On 19 February at 05:00 UTC, one of the Copernicus Sentinel-3 satellites acquired this image of Freddy, a very intense tropical cyclone currently active in the Indian Ocean. The storm is expected to approach Mauritius Island and La Réunion on 20 February before hitting the coast of Madagascar on 21 February, bringing along strong winds, heavy...

Bushfires are affecting the Western Downs region of Queensland, Australia. These fires have burnt more than 7,400 hectares of vegetation, causing significant damage. On 16 February, one of the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites captured a pyrocumulus cloud produced by a fire ongoing near Pelham. This type of cloud develops as a result of the...

This image, acquired on 15 February 2023 by one of the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites, shows the reduced flow of the Po River north of Voghera, in northern Italy. The entire Po Valley is affected for the second year in a row by severe drought conditions. According to the ANBI Observatory, the Po River reached its all-time record low levels in...

This image, acquired on 12 February 2023, shows part of the province of Málaga in southern Spain, which is renowned for its almond groves. In this area an early blossoming of almond trees is ongoing. Since it is still winter, the flowers are vulnerable to frost, which puts the summer harvest at risk. A poor almond harvest can have serious...