Visible radiances in ECMWF's analysis
Necker, Tobias ; Lupu, Cristina ; Quesada-Ruiz, Samuel ; Firat, Volkan ; Scheck, Leonhard ; Benedetti, Angela
Successful weather forecasts begin with accurate estimates of the current state of the Earth system. These estimates combine the latest observations with a short-range forecast constrained by previous observations through a process called data assimilation. At ECMWF, direct 'all-sky' assimilation of satellite radiances has become an essential part of forecasting by providing improved initial conditions in the presence of clouds and precipitation. Until recently, mainly microwave satellite observations have delivered detailed insights into cloud- and precipitation-affected regions. In previous Newsletters, we reported on initial efforts towards exploiting visible radiances (Benedetti et al., 2020; Steele et al., 2022). This article highlights ECMWF's advanced initiatives to leverage underutilised visible and near-infrared radiances, uncovering parts of the electromagnetic spectrum that have previously been inaccessible to numerical weather prediction (NWP). Progress was achieved by close collaboration with the German National Meteorological Service (DWD). DWD's Hans Ertel Centre for Weather Research (HErZ) pioneered the use of visible radiances in NWP in recent years. Researchers within HErZ developed advanced observation operators for visible radiances (Scheck, 2021; Baur et al., 2023), which are now distributed to the broader community through the NWP Satellite Application Facility (SAF) (EUMETSAT, 2025).</p>
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