A 6‐day symposium on Hydrological Applications of Remote Sensing and Remote Data Transmission was held August 18–25 at the General Assembly of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics in Hamburg. Authors from 22 countries were represented by the program, which covered descriptions of instrumentation and applications of remote data transmission and applications of many different remote sensing techniques, with sessions on precipitation, snow and ice, surface water, water planning/management, and soil moisture/ground water/wet lands. The symposium was cosponsored by WMO, UNESCO, IAH, and ISPRS.The opening day covered existing and future satellite systems in order to identify the basic facilities which will be available in the next decade or two for hydrological purposes. It covered both the space and ground segments of the satellite systems.