The Bureau of Meteorology has made near real-time imagery from the Japanese Himawari-8 satellite available to the public from today via its new web viewer. Himawari-8 is currently the most advanced dedicated weather satellite in the world.

Bureau director and CEO Dr Rob Vertessy said: “Himawari-8 is one giant leap in satellite meteorology: it’s like switching from black and white TV to high-definition colour in one jump. Or you could compare it to switching from the grainy images of the silent era to IMAX. You can see unfolding weather in detail we’ve only dreamed of in the past. But it’s more than just eye-candy for our forecasters.

“Himawari-8 generates about 50 times more data than the previous satellite. Our forecasters now have access to 16 observation wavebands that capture important detail from many layers of the atmosphere.

“Previously we received a satellite image just once every hour, now we get a detailed scan of our part of the globe every 10 minutes. It brings the conditions on earth to life.

“Combined with the coming upgrade to our supercomputer, Himawari-8 is a game changer. Weather computer models ingest data and extrapolate to provide a forecast. The better the data we put in, the better the forecast that comes out.

“Our forecasters are now starting to make use of the vast quantity of new data. One of the most immediate benefits is the ability to see storms as they develop. We expect to see continual growth in our use of the data over the coming years.”

The public can view Himawari-8’s images via the Bureau’s web viewer, which will go through a period of testing, feedback and improvement after the initial release today. The viewer can be found on the Bureau’s website: bom.gov.au/satellite