India and France in satellite deal

The space agencies of India and France have signed an agreement to co-operate in launching a satellite that can make the prediction of extreme weather conditions more accurate.

The satellite, due to be launched in four years time, will track tropical atmospheric conditions, like humidity, radiation and water vapour.

The French space agency said that if scientists could gain a greater understanding of how these tropical conditions interacted with other factors, they would be able to pinpoint when large events like cyclones, monsoons and drought would be more likely to occur.