Extreme weather, including flooding, is becoming more frequent as climate change takes its toll on the planet. One of the many regions to be hit by floods in recent years is the south of France, with heavy rainfalls caused in part by humidity above the Mediterranean Sea.

The Robusta-3A satellite, launching on Ariane 6’s first mission, is set to fly 580 km over our planet to help quantify the accumulation of water vapour over the Mediterranean Sea and improve the forecast of severe rain leading to flooding.