Global

A new report outlines the availability of data in humanitarian settings around the world. The 2021 edition of “The State of Open Humanitarian Data”, recently published by the Centre for Humanitarian Data of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), explores the state of the humanitarian data ecosystem and identifies gaps in data availability.

Humanitarian data refers to “(1) data about the context in which a humanitarian crisis is occurring (e.g., baseline/development data, damage assessments, geospatial data); (2) data about the people affected by the crisis and their needs; and (3) data about the response by organisations and people seeking to help those who need assistance”. In “The State of Open Humanitarian Data” reports, humanitarian data is collected using the Humanitarian Data Exchange (... read more

A knowledge platform for adaptation action on climate change recently updated the information, layout and logo of their website. With this step, adaptationcommunity.net aims to improve the user experience of the online platform and consequently facilitate the access to a wide variety of resources on climate change adaptation action, including tools working with Earth observation data.

Adaptation action in the context of climate change refers to “adjustments in ecological, social, or economic systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli and their effects or impacts. It refers to changes in processes, practices, and structures to moderate potential damages or to benefit from opportunities... read more

Officially launched in 2015 by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the SMAP mission is an orbiting satellite that measures the amount of wetness in the top layer of soil incrementally every 2-3 days. These Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) measurements rely on radiation frequencies that point to different levels of moisture on the surface of  earth’s soil and are useful for scientists because it allows them to construct maps indicating the level of soil moisture globally. Acknowledging the relevance and usability of this data for the field of disaster management, NASA recently integrated the SMAP data into its Disasters Mapping Portal. 

The Disasters Mapping Portal has been developed by the Geographic Informations Systems (GIS) Team at NASA in an effort to make their satellite data... read more

The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC) have launched the second edition of their Space4Youth competition. Under the title Space4Climate, this year's focus is on SDG 13, Climate Action. In order to participate, students and young professionals from any Member State of the United Nations are invited to submit an essay on the topic "Space as a tool to address climate challenges: examples from local communities" by 21 June 2020.

Climate change is the defining issue of our time. From shifting weather patterns to rising sea levels, the impact of climate change is global in scope and unprecedented in scale. Action is needed and young people play a key role. With this competition, UNOOSA and SGAC want to give a voice to and promote youth's ideas on how space, in all its aspects... read more

On 14 May, the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) hosted two sessions of a webinar on space applications to support global health, including to fight coronavirus. 

During the 90-minute sessions, experts from UNOOSA, as well as from other international organisations, governments and private sector companies operating in the space sector discussed how space applications can strengthen the capacity of all countries, in particular developing countries, for early warning, risk reduction and management of epidemics and other health risks. Particular attention was paid to the current coronavirus pandemic.

To find out more about space applications to fight the coronavirus, please visit the COVID-19 overview page here on the Knowledge Portal.

Presentations from the webinar are available on the... read more

On 1 April 1960, NASA sent the Television Infrared Observation Satellite (TIROS-1) into space. TIROS-1 was developed during the 1950s and, after years of experimental programmes and attempts, became the world’s first weather satellite. Since weather satellites were a new technology at that time, the mission also tested various design issues for spacecraft, such as instruments, data, and operational parameters, in order to improve satellite applications for Earth-bound decisions. TIROS-1 thus paved the way for further weather satellite development and research. Today, weather satellites provide highly accurate and near-real-time measurements that can efficiently monitor and forecast extreme weather events, such as floods and droughts, as well as enhance the understanding of the climate and of the Earth as a whole.

TIROS-1 provided information about cloud formations around the globe. It orbited 450 miles above Earth and communicated with two command and... read more

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Republic of Korea are working together on a global satellite constellation of three space-based instruments that could track global pollution on an hourly basis. These air quality satellites will measure pollutants, including ozone, nitrogen dioxide, formaldehyde and tiny atmospheric particles called aerosols in order to enhance our understanding of air quality and air pollution. To date, air quality satellites have collected data only once a day. These three new instruments will provide hourly, highly detailed and near-real-time data that will improve air quality science and forecasting around the world, in particular around the most densely populated areas of the Northern Hemisphere. 

Collecting data hourly will allow to capture pollution that appears episodically, like rush-hour traffic or a power plant that switches on to meet peak power demands, as well... read more

A new report lists extreme weather events and major natural disasters among the top five risks in terms of likelihood over the next decade. The Global Risks Report 2020, published by the World Economic Forum, is based on a survey of 750 global experts and decision-makers who ranked their concerns in terms of likelihood and impact. Climate action failure, biodiversity loss and human-made environmental disasters are also among the most prevalent risks, making it the first time that the report's top five risks in terms of likelihood are all environmental.

Failure of climate change mitigation and adaptation, and extreme weather events, such as floods and storms, are also among the top five risks by severity of impact. These are the most strongly connected global risks, according to respondents.

The report underlines that growing climate emergency is "striking harder and more rapidly... read more

Major disasters such as droughts and wildfires are driven by the dryness of vegetation. To enhance the monitoring of plant water stress, NASA launched and installed a new sensor on the International Space Station. ECOSTRESS (ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station) allows identifying loss of water in leaves- even before they show visible signs of trouble.

The image to the left shows a product derived from ECOSTRESS data, indicating that the forest fires during the 2019 Amazon dry season were concentrated in water-stressed areas, which are not visible on optical imagery. “To the naked eye, the fires appear randomly distributed throughout the forest,” said Josh Fisher, ECOSTRESS science lead at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Plants regulate their... read more

The European Space Agency (ESA) has announced the launch of a new satellite that will use artificial intelligence to filter images unsuitable for future use. The Phi Satellite (ɸ-Sat-1), presented at the ESA Phi-week from 9 to 12 September, will make data delivery more efficient by not sending back to Earth acquisitions with high cloud cover. Currently, the process of filtering images for cloud cover is done after the images are received on the ground, meaning that a number of images sent to Earth are not useful.

In 2017, the federated satellite system 6U tandem mission for sea ice and soil moisture monitoring (FSSCat) idea, which was proposed by the Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya from Barcelona, Spain, won the Copernicus Masters. This annual international competition awards prizes to innovative solutions, developments and ideas for business and society based on Earth observation... read more

Representatives from the network of UN-SPIDER Regional Support Offices (RSO) convene in Vienna for the 9th Annual RSO Coordination Meeting from 18 to 19 June. Held at the United Nations Offices in Vienna, the meeting provides the 23 RSOs the opportunity to propose concrete ways in which they, respectively, could further collaborate with UN-SPIDER and also with other RSOs. The event is a forum for discussion of innovative approaches to disaster management using space-based technologies.

At the meeting, RSO representatives discussed lessons learned from their respective regional capacity-building and knowledge and awareness-raising activities, and their experiences working with the  International Charter “Space and Major Disasters”. Additional discussions included the development and use... read more

Held on 13 and 14 May in Geneva, the Second Multi-Hazard Early Warning Conference (MHEWC-II) called for further strengthening of multi-hazard early warning systems (MHEWS) as part of disaster risk reduction efforts worldwide. At the event, more than 320 participants from all regions of the world and affiliated to international, regional, national and local public sector, civil society, private sector and academic institutions highlighted the need for better governance, partnerships, communication and science and technology for multi-hazard early warning efforts to translate into early action that saves lives. Establishing effective early warning systems that address intertwined hazards is becoming more urgent by the day against the backdrop of a changing climate and extreme weather events that particularly affect developing countries.

MHEWC-II, which was hosted by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) at its headquarters in Geneva... read more