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Global Meteorological Observation
Outlines and Activities.
World Weather Watch
Current space-based component of the Global observation system
In order to improve weather forecasting, the World Meteorological Organization
(WMO) promotes the the World Weather Watch (WWW) program that modernizes
the meteorological services of the National Meteorological and Hydrological
Services (NMHSs) by utilizing the latest results of science and technology
under the cooperation of the WMO member countries. The main purpose of
the WWW program is to observe weather around the world uniformly. Meteorological
satellites that have a capability to observe a wide range of the earth
from space are exactly suitable for this role.
The combination of geostationary and polar orbiting meteorological satellites is one of the most important parts of the Global Observation System of the WWW program.
MTSAT takes an indispensable part of the Global Observing System as shown
in the above figure and makes a great contribution to the meteorological
services of not only Japan but also the world.
Current operational Geostationary Meteorological Satellites
| Sector | Operator | Satellites | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| West-Pacific (108E-180E) | JMA (MSC) | MTSAT-1R | 140E |
| East-Pacific (180E-108E) | NOAA | GOES-11 | 135W |
| West-Atlantic (108W-36W) | NOAA | GOES-12 | 75W |
| East-Atlantic (36W-36E) | EUMETSAT | METEOSAT-8 | 3.4W |
| Indian Ocean (36E-108E) | CMA | FY-2C | 105E |
| EUMETSAT | METEOSAT-7 | 57.5E | |
| IMD | KALPANA-1 | 74E | |
| INSAT-3A | 93.5E |
Current Polar-Orbiting Meteorological Satellites
| Operator | satellites | Altitude |
|---|---|---|
| NOAA | NOAA-17 | 810 km |
| NOAA-18 | 854 km | |
| CMA | FY-1D | 866 km |
| EUMETSAT | Metop-A | 837 km |
Reference
- EUMETSAT, 2006： Report of the 34th Meeting of the Coordination Group for Meteorological Satellites, CGMS-34.