In a significant leap forward for meteorology, the preliminary data obtained by Meteosat Third Generation’s two instruments, the Flexible Combined Imager (FCI) and the Lightning Imager (LI), were successfully combined today for the first time – highlighting their complementary capabilities. This first set of animations gives us a preview of the system’s future impact.

The animation shown here combines data from the Meteosat Third Generation’s Flexible Combined Imager (FCI) and the Lightning Imager (LI), starting at 12:00 UTC on 03 June 2023 and ending at 12:00 UTC of 04 June 2023.

This animation shows highly intense lightning activity over extensive areas in the central African region. Local thunderstorms emerge in the afternoon and disappear shortly after sunset, unless they evolve into larger storm clusters known as mesoscale convective systems, which can span over 1000 km and remain active day and night.

The majority of the lightning activity in the animation is observed north of the Equator, as the main trigger, the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), shifts northwards during the Northern Hemisphere summer.

This is preliminary commissioning data, not for operational use. For more information: A forecasting revolution on its way