Space: European satellite to step up monitoring of extreme weather

As many European countries simmer in a deadly heatwave, the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) said its MetOp-SGA1 satellite will give “earlier warnings to help protect lives and property from extreme weather”. The rocket Ariane 6 took off from France’s Kourou space base in French Guyana, carrying the four-tonne satellite. MetOp-SGA1 was to be put into an 800 kilometre (500 mile) high orbit.