Stephan Bojinski (EUMETSAT): General introduction to MTG-S (IRS and UVN)
Stephan Bojinski introduces the MTG-S and the instruments onboard.
An overview of Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) and the InfraRed Sounding mission is provided. The MTG-S satellite was launched on 1 July 2025 with an InfraRed Sounder (IRS) on board, passively measuring upwelling radiance in 1953 channels from geostationary orbit, every 30 min over Europe, and less frequently over other areas of the Earth disc. Valuable retrievals of humidity and temperature are expected with vertical resolution of 1-2km and spatial resolution of ~6-7km over Europe, complementing model-derived fields or radiosonde profiles. IRS is also sensitive to atmospheric trace gases such as NH3, SO2 and CO. Since this capability is a first-ever for EUMETSAT and its users, significant user training is required to visualise and interpret the data directly, e.g., in nowcasting applications. Strong impact on improving weather forecasting skill is expected by assimilating IRS radiances in NWP models, similar to data from its IASI sister missions in polar orbit. EUMETSAT informs its member states regularly informed about the status of IRS testing and release of early data via its MTG User Preparation user group and the Core NWP user group.