Europe probe tracks global warming impact on water

Handout picture shows second satellite of the European Space Agency's (ESA's) Earth Explorer series the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission before its launch. Photo: AFPAfp, Paris

The European Space Agency yesterday launched a water tracking satellite that will help give faster predictions of floods and other extreme weather incidents caused by global warming.

The 315 million euro (460 million dollar) Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) was carried into space on a Russian Rockot launcher from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in northern Russia.

The ESA said it is now orbiting 760km above Earth from where it will gauge the impact of climate change on the movement of water across land, air and sea.