File:Sea Surface Temperature of the Baltic Sea, Kattegat and Skagerrak.jpg

English: The unusually hot summer of 2020 is having severe consequences on the environment at high latitudes, and in particular in the Baltic Sea. This images shows the Sea Surface Temperature (SST) as measured by one of the Copernicus Sentinel-3 satellites on 16 August in the southern part of the Baltic Sea and the Kattegat and Skagerrak straits. SST reached values above 24°C along the coasts of Poland, Russia, Lithuania and Sweden, and about 22°C in the Kattegat. These data, as reported by the Danish Meteorologic Institute, represent a SST thermal anomaly of approximately 3-4°C with respect to the 1985 - 2003 reference period. The Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission is composed of two twin satellites (Sentinel-3A and Sentinel-3B) that are both equipped with the SLSTR Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer from which SST data are retrieved. Sea surface temperature data is used as an input for weather and ocean forecasting, to observe and monitor ocean current systems and ocean fronts, eddies, upwelling areas, marine ecosystems and the development of large scale El Niño/La Niña events.