Russia's new Meteor M satellite to enhance weather data reliability

MOSCOW. March 1 (Interfax) - The Meteor M2-4 weather satellite, launched from the Vostochny Cosmodrome on Thursday, will enhance the reliability of weather data transmission to stations of the Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), the press service for Roscosmos' Russian Space Systems holding said.

"As the new satellite joins the group, the frequency of Earth imaging and reliability of weather data transmission to Roshydromet ground stations will increase. We will thus improve the quality of regional and global weather forecasts and be able to give new assessments of transformations in climate processes," the press service quoted head of the Russian Space Systems division for systemic design of multi-zonal scanners Alexander Zaitsev as saying.

The satellite carries a device for round-the-clock Earth imaging in visible and infrared spectral bands, a temperature and humidity sensing module, and a system for measuring solar activity, Russian Space Systems said.

An infrared Fourier spectrometer (IKFS-2), made by specialists from the Keldysh Center, is another piece of the Meteor M payload. It is designed for sensing atmospheric temperature and humidity and measuring concentrations of climatically significant trace gases in the atmosphere.

Roshydromet Director Igor Shumakov said on February 29 that Russia would stop using data from Western weather satellites by the end of 2024. The data flow from Western satellites practically dried out, yet the shortage of information was compensated for, he said.

Meteor M is a class of weather satellites designed to monitor the ozone layer's thickness, radiation levels in the circumterrestrial space, and sea surface conditions, including ice patterns.