Wildfires have broken out across southern Europe as a heatwave grips the region. This animation created using images from the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites show the live blaze and aftermath of wildfires that devastated an area about 35 km northeast of Athens, Greece, in mid-August.

Wildfires have been raging in Canada's Alberta province for nearly three weeks, causing widespread destruction and forcing thousands of people from their homes. As the blaze grows and shifts, satellites are tracking its movement.

Using satellites for improving the exploitation of water resources is just one of the innovative ideas developed over the week-long 'camp' dedicated to creating mobile apps drawing on Earth observation data.

Calling all app developers: register today for the opportunity to spend a week at ESA developing new ideas and concepts for mobile apps using satellite Earth observation data.

With the first of the Sentinel satellites being readied for launch next spring, scientists are looking ahead to the third mission in the series to ensure the highest quality data possible.

A new fire detection algorithm ALGO3, has been tested and validated for ATSR-1/-2 and AATSR. This extends the ATSR World Fire Atlas (WFA) to 21 years of night-time fire series.

Earth-observing satellites can map natural phenomena such as floods and earthquakes, track hurricanes and monitor land subsidence across the globe. This information can be valuable to insurance companies for risk and damage assessment.