Good Things Need Time: Progress With the First Hyperspectral Sounder in Geostationary Orbit
Johannes Schmetz
Abstract
Abstract My comments address the Geostationary Interferometric Infrared Sounder (GIIRS) on the Chinese FY‐4A satellite. It is the first hyperspectral sounder in geostationary orbit. An impact study by Yin et al. (2021, https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL093672 ) of GIIRS data on forecasting of typhoon (Maria in 2018) shows beneficial results. GIIRS provides temperature and humidity observations in cloud‐free areas with high vertical and, as a novelty, with high temporal resolution (as short as 15 min) over a limited area. The development of GIIRS was long preceded by international plans and it will be followed by other hyperspectral sounders covering the geostationary ring. GIIRS is a major step toward an improved global space‐based observing system enabling better forecasts of the temporal evolution of severe convective weather.