Euronews' Jeremy Wilks talks to scientists at the Dutch national weather centre
ADVERTISEMENTThe ozone layer is no longer degrading, scientists told Euronews ahead of the launch of the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-5P satellite, which they hope will prove its recovery.
Pieternel Levelt and Pepijn Veefkind, whose instrument is on board the satellite, said that while the ozone layer has not yet recovered, data shows that its condition is improving.
“Statistically we still cannot yet prove it. It might be even so that our new instrument… is the one to really give the last numbers to prove the fact that we see a recovery of the ozone layer,” said Levelt.
The Sentinel-5P satellite is being launched on Friday, marking the first of Europe’s Copernicus missions to monitor our atmosphere from space.
Speaking to Euronews’ space expert Jeremy Wilks from KNMI, the Dutch national weather centre, the scientists explained that their instrument would measure air pollution and greenhouse gases with a resolution 10 times higher than any before it.
When asked how the mission could affect daily life, they explained that the data could lead to more accurate smog and climate change forecasts.
It will also produce pollution data from parts of the world where measurements are not currently possible.
“Think of a lot of the third-world countries who don’t have this capability. So especially there, we expect to see interesting changes,” Levelt explained.
Wilks also spoke to ESA’s Anne Grete Straume, whose satellite Aeolus will measure wind from space for the first time.
Find out more about the missions by watching the video below: