This image, acquired on 19 September by one of the Copernicus Sentinel-3 satellites at 13:52:02 UTC, shows Hurricane Nigel. Nigel is the sixth storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. It formed on 16 September, and is currently located at approximately 1,000 km SE of Bermuda. It is classified as a Category 1 hurricane, but according to the US...

Climate change poses a threat to World Heritage Sites, endangering their integrity and unique beauty. This image, acquired on 15 September 2023 by one of the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites, shows the Sanssouci Palace and Gardens in Potsdam, a 300-year-old World Heritage site in Germany. During the past years, this historic jewel has been hit...

The wildfire season is far from over in Canada, with severe wildfires still active in various provinces, such as Alberta and British Columbia. This image, acquired on 16 September 2023, shows the massive smoke plume emitted by the fires ongoing in Alberta, engulfing the skies of the Arctic Circle.  Since May 2023, 17.3 million hectares of land...

Once classified as a category 5 Hurricane, Lee has weakened and transformed into a “post-tropical cyclone”, impacting the Nova Scotia region after passing through New England and eastern Canada. Winds of up to 112 km/h have been reported, along with heavy rainfall that has led to coastal road flooding and power outages in many areas. On 16...

Heavy spring rain, followed by drought and the development of fungus on vine leaves, could potentially lead to a 12% loss in this season's grape harvest in central Italy, as reported by UIV, Assoenologi , and the ISMEA agriculture institute.  Grape downy mildew, a condition caused by the “plasmopara viticola” fungus, is impacting the grapes,...

On 10 September 2023, heavy rains caused by Storm Daniel’s flooded many cities in eastern Libya, the city of Derna being the worst hit. More than 30,000 people have been displaced after the flooding in Derna, and 5,100 casualties are reported to date. The Copernicus Emergency Management Service (CEMS) Rapid Mapping module has been activated...

On 11 September, the Norwegian Ocean Explorer cruise ship ran aground in a remote fjord of the Northeast Greenland National Park. With 200 passengers on board, it is awaiting a rescue that will take several days since the nearest vessel capable of helping is approximately 2,000 km away. Local Authorities have confirmed that all passengers are...

Copernicus, the European Union's flagship Earth Observation programme, has been instrumental in providing essential insights which have been used to address a range of societal challenges. 

On 10 September, after its journey through the Mediterranean Basin, Storm Daniel hit the Libyan cities of Derna and Benghazi, wiping off buildings and catching citizens by surprise. Two days after the landfall, over 8,000 people are reported missing, with 5,200 confirmed casualties.  These two images, acquired by one of the Copernicus...

On 8 September 2023 at 22:11 UTC, a 6.8 Magnitude earthquake struck the Moroccan High Atlas Mountains, southwest of Marrakech. The earthquakes hasresulted in more than 2,800 casualties and over 2,500 injuries to date. The Copernicus Emergency Management Service (CEMS) Rapid Mapping module has been activated (EMSR695) to assess the damages...

Copernicus constitutes a key contribution to the objectives of the EU’s Strategy, including on polar matters. In fall 2021, the EU updated its Arctic Policy, for which Copernicus bears great support potential.

Heavy rainfall in Greece has led to large-scale flooding in the Thessaly region, affecting thousands of hectares of territory. On 9 September, 3 days after the start of the floods, several villages continued to be completely cut off. Firefighters have rescued more than 2,850 people since the beginning of the floods.  This image, captured on 10...

On 5 September, a storm named Daniel formed in the Mediterranean Sea and within a week, it developed into a Medicane (or Mediterranean Hurricane).  In this image acquired by the SLSTR thermal instrument of the Copernicus Sentinel-3B satellite on 9 September at 20:30 UTC, we can see it as it moved north of Benghazi towards the Libyan coast...

Hurricane Lee formed in the Atlantic Ocean at the beginning of September 2023. Before being lowered to category 3, Lee surprised scientists on 5 September by intensifying at a rate double the one defined as “rapid intensification” by the US National Hurricane Centre’s . The hurricane grew from Category 1 to Category 5 in just 24 hours. Lee’s...

Since 2016 the Adamello glacier, the largest in Italy, has retreated ~200m due to global warming. According to the Intergovernamental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) this region of the Alps will see temperatures rising by between 3 and 6 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. This heat and longer lasting summers, combined with the lack of...

Presentations and Video Link of the 1st Webinar on the FPCUP WG Africa Training of Trainers Programme.

In 2022, sea ice extent in Antarctica was the lowest ever recorded in the satellite era. A recent study, published in the prestigious Communications Earth & Environment scientific journal, revealed that during that year, four emperor penguin colonies 'skipped a generation' due to the premature melting of sea ice in the Bellingshausen Sea,...

In 2021, the DG DEFIS and DG JRC, in coordination with the Copernicus Committee, User Forum and the entities implementing the Copernicus Security Services, joined efforts to enhance the streamlining of research and innovation based on user demand and operational requirements.

Storm Daniel, visible in this image acquired today, 6 September, at 08:48 UTC, is causing devastating floods in Greece, Türkiye, and Bulgaria.  There are at least seven casualties, including two tourists in northwestern Türkiye. In Istanbul, the heavy rainfall resulted in flooded streets and homes, claiming two lives. Greece experienced record...

This image acquired by one of the two Copernicus Sentinel-3 satellites on 4 September 2023 shows a massive Saharan dust plume stretching from the Mediterranean Sea to the Bay of Biscay in the Atlantic Ocean.  This dust plume, which at the time of the image acquisition extended over about 2,000 kilometres, is travelling in the direction of...