Aschbacher says Europe's most advanced Earth observation programme

Aschbacher said ESA's Copernicus Sentinel 3 satellite series had measured extreme land surface temperatures of more than 45 degree Celsius in Britain, 50 degree Celsius in France and 60 degree Celsius in Spain in recent weeks.

He said that the whole ecosystem is changing very, very fast and much faster than what was expected to be until a few years ago.

It is the visible signs of climate change because of the drought, fires, intensity of storms, and many other things that are related to it. As temperatures change, the winds get stronger and can unleash harsher storms.

Aschbacher said that typhoons are much more powerful than they used to be in terms of wind speed and damage.

The Austrian scientist was named the head of Paris-based ESA last year after leading the 22 nation agency's Earth observation work including Copernicus, which ESA says is the world's largest environmental monitoring effort co-led by the European Union.

The programme's six families of Sentinel satellites aim to read the planet's vital signs from carbon dioxide to wave height or temperatures of land and oceans.

Copernicus Sentinel 2 satellite images taken on roughly the same day in June between 2020 and 2022, released by ESA, show how the drought-stricken Po whose plains sustain a third of Italy's agriculture has retreated to expose broad sandbanks.

The programme is facing a funding gap of 750 million euros US $774 million to develop a second generation of satellites that Britain would have contributed to via the EU and its fate is now being discussed.

After leaving the EU last year, Britain remains a member of the ESA and its 170 million-euro direct contribution is unaffected.

Aschbacher said that we still need 750 million to complete the development of this second generation of satellites.

That is certainly an issue for climate monitoring globally, but also for Europe in particular, because many of these parameters are aimed at priorities for Europe. A funding package for Earth observation worth an estimated 3 billion euros will be discussed in November by the ESA ministers.

Aschbacher dismissed two myths that were made up by critics who question the international climate drive.

The first is that people think we can wait and that we will tough it out by waiting, he said. He said that if we don't heed warnings like this year's weather crisis could cost hundreds of trillions of dollars this century, it's going to cost a lot of money to deal with climate change and affect the poorest people.

You always have weather fluctuations but never of this magnitude. Aschbacher told Reuters that there was no doubt in my mind that this is caused by climate change.