A new project that will provide a “seamless supply chain” of climate data from space has been launched.

The UK Climate Data from Space (CDS) computing zone is expected to boost growth and innovation in the nation’s climate services industries by providing data processing facilities, community tools and software to allow regular production of data from currently flying satellites.

It is being funded by the UK Space Agency (UKSA) and the National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO).

The CDS-zone will provide infrastructure and software support to the UK Climate Data from Space community.

Professor John Remedios, Director of the NCEO, said: “The UK environmental sciences community have an international reputation for the quality of their climate data sets. Such data sets not only allow us to understand current changes in climate but provide real information on likely impacts.

“The benefits range from evidence for policy to market information which allows businesses to build environmental considerations into their operations.”

Earlier this year, a third EU satellite which will send environmental data to help tackle climate change was launched as part of the European Commission’s Copernicus programme.