Copernicus Emergency Management Service (CEMS)

The Copernicus Emergency Management Service (CEMS) is part of the Copernicus Programme, the European Union’s Earth Observation Programme. CEMS is managed directly by the European Commission via the Joint Research Centre.

CEMS supports all actors involved in the management of natural or manmade disasters by providing geospatial data and images for informed decision making. CEMS constantly monitors Europe and the globe for signals of an impending disaster or evidence of one happening in real time. The service immediately notifies national authorities of their findings or can be activated on-demand and offers to provide them with maps, time-series or other relevant information to better manage disaster risk. CEMS products are created using satellite, in-situ (non-space) and model data.

CEMS comprises two components: On-demand Mapping and Early Warning & Monitoring. Copernicus EMS Early Warning and Monitoring offers critical geospatial information at European and global level through continuous observations and forecasts for floods, droughts and forest fires. It includes the European Flood Awareness System (EFAS), the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) and the European Drought Observatory (EDO). It also links to the global versions of the these early warning system (GloFAS, GDO, GWIS) and to the Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System (GDACS) for tropical cyclones. These versions cover the overseas areas of Europe that are often affected by extreme events.