2020 9 11 Tim Hewison

                 9/11/20 BUSINESS MEETING FOLLOWED BY                                SPEAKER TIM HEWISON WHO WORKS FOR EUMETSAT

 European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) is based at Darmstadt in Germany

Through a series of slides and short videos Tim showed how satellites operate and collect information about the atmosphere, oceans and land surfaces -24 hours a day 365 days a year. This data is supplied to the National Meteorological Services of the organisation's Member and Cooperating States in Europe, as well as other users worldwide. For example freely to all nations in Africa where there is poorly developed Metrological infrastructure.

The service provided by EUMETSAT helps to enhance and safeguard the daily lives of European citizens. They aid meteorologists in identifying and monitoring the development of potentially dangerous weather situations and in issuing timely forecasts and warnings to emergency services and local authorities, helping to mitigate the effects of severe weather and protecting human life and property.

This information is also critical to the safety of air travel, shipping and road traffic, and to the daily business of farming, construction and many other industries.

Tim went on to describe his own teams work in the accurate calibration of the instruments carried by the satellites to ensure that measurements are consistent over time and between specific instruments. This is the area of research in which he is involved