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IFRC says humanitarian need could double without urgent action on climate change
Mar Sép 24 2019
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) - the world's largest humanitarian organization - released a report estimating the growth of humanitarian need if current human activities continue. Published this month, "The Cost of Doing Nothing" paints a bleak picture of global need for humanitarian assistance doubling to 200 million. The price tag, the report...
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New ESA satellite uses AI to make data delivery more efficient
Lun Sép 23 2019
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...
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UN-SPIDER Beijing conference explores role of space technologies in disaster risk reduction strategies, marks ten-year anniversary
Ven Sép 13 2019
The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 recognizes the importance of a multi-hazard approach to disaster risk reduction and makes explicit reference to promoting real-time access to reliable data making use of space and in situ information under Priority for Action 1, “Understanding disaster risk”. Such access is key to developing an understanding of disaster risk in all its...
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UN-SPIDER co-organizes International Charter training in Beijing
Jeu Sép 12 2019
On 10 September 2019, 60 participants of the ninth annual UN-SPIDER Beijing conference and officials from Chinese government organizations attended the International Charter “Space and Major Disasters” project manager training.
The training was co-organized by the UN-SPIDER Beijing office and the National Disaster Reduction Centre of China (NDRCC) and hosted at the facilities of NDRCC in Beijing...
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Beijing international training programme focuses on use of space-based technologies for disaster risk assessments
Jeu Sép 12 2019
In the run up to this year's UN-SPIDER Beijing conference on 11 and 12 September, 30 participants from around Asia attended the international training programme on space-based technologies for disaster risk assessment from 5 to 9 September, which was hosted at the Regional Centre for Space Science Technology Education in Asia and the Pacific (RCSSTEAP) based at Beihang University, Beijing. The...
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UN-SPIDER strengthens use of space data for drought early warning in Ethiopia
Mer Août 28 2019
Timely and reliable information about precipitation, soil moisture and vegetation health provide essential insights for early detection of drought. Space-based information, which helps monitor these parameters, is a central data source for effective drought early warning systems.
Upon the request of the Government of Ethiopia, UN-SPIDER is carrying out a Technical Advisory Mission (TAM) to Addis...
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Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2019 highlights role of big data in meeting new climate reality
Lun Août 26 2019
A new report warns that the Asia-Pacific region is not sufficiently prepared for a new climate reality marked by an intensification and changing geography of disaster risks that are becoming harder to predict. The “Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2019”, a biennial publication by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), finds that slow-onset disasters –...
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Dengue fever forecasting system makes use of Earth observation data
Mar Août 20 2019
Dengue fever is a viral infection transmitted by mosquitoes. “Today the disease is endemic in 141 countries, affecting 390 million people and with a global annual cost estimated at almost US$9 billion. Since 2000, there has been an increase of over 100% in the number of cases of dengue fever in Vietnam, and there is currently no system for forecasting future dengue outbreaks.” according to a...
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German research team uses satellites and AI technology to monitor volcanoes
Mar Août 6 2019
“More than half of the world’s active volcanoes are not monitored instrumentally,” according to GFZ Helmholtz Centre Potsdam. Yet eruptions occur quite frequently, with up to 85 of the 1500 active volcanoes erupting each year, and can cause significant damage. For example, the 2018 volcanic eruptions at Fuego (Guatemala) and Anak Krakatau (Indonesia) resulted in 430 dead and missing persons. This...
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European Space Agency and Asian Development Bank help Indonesia with rebuilding efforts after 2018 earthquake
Mar Août 6 2019
In September 2018, the Indonesian island of Sulawesi was hit by a 7.5 magnitude earthquake. The impact, combined with the tsunami, landslides, and soil liquefaction that followed, “... claimed well over 2000 lives, destroyed homes, buildings, infrastructure and farmland in several districts,” according to the European Space Agency (ESA).
Ten months later, response efforts are now moving into the...
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DLR supports efforts to fight forest fires in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
Jeu Juil 25 2019
Satellite technology became an integral part of efforts to detect and contain forest fires in Mecklenburg Western Pomerania, Germany at the end of June and early July. The German Aerospace Center (DLR) used satellite information, along with images captured by the Modular Aerial Camera System (MACS), to create maps, which provided emergency services with up-to-date information about areas affected...
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Space-based data in emergency response at centre of UN-SPIDER Institutional Strengthening Mission to Cameroon
Mar Juil 23 2019
Upon the request of the Ministry of Territorial Administration (MINAT), Government of Cameroon, UN-SPIDER carried out a week-long Institutional Strengthening Mission (ISM) to Yaoundé from 15 to 19 July. The mission aimed to strengthen the capacities of the Department of Civil Protection (DPC) of Cameroon in using space-based information in all phases of the disaster management cycle. It was the...
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Facebook expands its population density maps to the Asia-Pacific region
Mar Juil 16 2019
Facebook has published new population density maps covering most of the African continent and countries of the Asia-Pacific region in June 2019. Using artificial intelligence (AI), these maps help organizations to respond to natural disasters, and scientists to assess the impact of climate change and urbanization on people’s lives. As soon as almost the entire world population is covered by the...
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IMF releases report on building disaster resilience in small and low-income countries
Ven Juil 12 2019
Small and low-income countries can be disproportionately affected by natural disasters. For example, the top ten natural disasters between 1980 and 2017, in terms of greatest damage as a percentage of GDP, occurred in small and low-income countries, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its June 2019 policy paper, “Building Resilience in Developing Countries Vulnerable to Large...
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Study discusses use of space technology for detecting infrastructure instability
Lun Juil 8 2019
Evaluating the safety and integrity of infrastructure such as bridges, which is often done through hands-on inspections, may soon be possible with the help of information captured several kilometers above the Earth’s surface. According to a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) news article, scientists from NASA, the University of Bath, and the Italian Space Agency used historical...
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Tropical Cyclones stalling along the North Atlantic coast lead to more rain in the confined location
Jeu Juil 4 2019
According to a new study by scientists from NASA and NOAA, tropical cyclones stall more frequently and stay longer near the coastline. This potentially leads to more precipitation over confined locations and thus an aggravation of tropical cyclone hazards for coastal populations.
In the new study, scientists Hall and Kossin examined all tropical cyclones from 1944-2017 in the National Hurricane...
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Recent study presents new assessment method for rare floods risks
Jeu Juil 4 2019
A recent study, published in the Water Resource Research journal, presents a new method for a spatially realistic national flood risk assessment.
Researchers expanded an existing statistical model, based on U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) river flow data, to simulate a thousand years of potential flood events. By calculating the damage for each event in dollars, they were able to estimate the...
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Flooding affected more people in 2018 than any other disaster type report shows
Lun Juil 1 2019
In the past year, “there were 315 natural disaster events recorded with 11,804 deaths, over 68 million people affected, and US$131.7 billion in economic losses around the world.” This is according to the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) in its recently released 2018 Natural Disasters Report.
While these 2018 natural disaster values represent a decrease when compared...
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NOAA's upgrade of its Global Forecast System expected to enhance weather forecasts in the USA
Jeu Juin 27 2019
In June 2019, NOAA upgraded its flagship weather model, the Global Forecast System (GFS), with a new dynamic core, called Finite-Volume Cubed-Sphere Dynamical Core (FV3). This upgrade of the GFS will enhance global numerical weather forecasting and better forecast precipitation, heavy rainfall and weather types at both regional and global level. Besides, the FV3-based GFS revealed improvements in...
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UNOOSA launches 2018 Annual Report
Ven Juin 21 2019
In its recently released 2018 Annual Report, the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) provides an overview of the many projects and initiatives it engaged in during the past year to advance international cooperation in outer space.
As one of the highlights, UNOOSA organized and hosted the UNISPACE+50 symposium in Vienna in June 2018 to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the...
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Canadian RADARSAT Constellation Mission to support disaster relief efforts
Ven Juin 21 2019
On 12 June 2019, a trio of identical Canadian Earth observation satellites, which will help monitor climate change and save lives during natural disasters, among other applications, were successfully launched into space from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
The satellites, collectively referred to as the RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RAM), follow the legacy of over two decades of Canadian RADARSAT...
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) - the world's largest humanitarian organization - released a report estimating the growth of humanitarian need if current human activities continue. Published this month, "The Cost of Doing Nothing" paints a bleak picture of global need for humanitarian assistance doubling to 200 million. The price tag, the report...
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...
The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 recognizes the importance of a multi-hazard approach to disaster risk reduction and makes explicit reference to promoting real-time access to reliable data making use of space and in situ information under Priority for Action 1, “Understanding disaster risk”. Such access is key to developing an understanding of disaster risk in all its...
On 10 September 2019, 60 participants of the ninth annual UN-SPIDER Beijing conference and officials from Chinese government organizations attended the International Charter “Space and Major Disasters” project manager training. The training was co-organized by the UN-SPIDER Beijing office and the National Disaster Reduction Centre of China (NDRCC) and hosted at the facilities of NDRCC in Beijing...
In the run up to this year's UN-SPIDER Beijing conference on 11 and 12 September, 30 participants from around Asia attended the international training programme on space-based technologies for disaster risk assessment from 5 to 9 September, which was hosted at the Regional Centre for Space Science Technology Education in Asia and the Pacific (RCSSTEAP) based at Beihang University, Beijing. The...
Timely and reliable information about precipitation, soil moisture and vegetation health provide essential insights for early detection of drought. Space-based information, which helps monitor these parameters, is a central data source for effective drought early warning systems. Upon the request of the Government of Ethiopia, UN-SPIDER is carrying out a Technical Advisory Mission (TAM) to Addis...
A new report warns that the Asia-Pacific region is not sufficiently prepared for a new climate reality marked by an intensification and changing geography of disaster risks that are becoming harder to predict. The “Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2019”, a biennial publication by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), finds that slow-onset disasters –...
Dengue fever is a viral infection transmitted by mosquitoes. “Today the disease is endemic in 141 countries, affecting 390 million people and with a global annual cost estimated at almost US$9 billion. Since 2000, there has been an increase of over 100% in the number of cases of dengue fever in Vietnam, and there is currently no system for forecasting future dengue outbreaks.” according to a...
“More than half of the world’s active volcanoes are not monitored instrumentally,” according to GFZ Helmholtz Centre Potsdam. Yet eruptions occur quite frequently, with up to 85 of the 1500 active volcanoes erupting each year, and can cause significant damage. For example, the 2018 volcanic eruptions at Fuego (Guatemala) and Anak Krakatau (Indonesia) resulted in 430 dead and missing persons. This...
In September 2018, the Indonesian island of Sulawesi was hit by a 7.5 magnitude earthquake. The impact, combined with the tsunami, landslides, and soil liquefaction that followed, “... claimed well over 2000 lives, destroyed homes, buildings, infrastructure and farmland in several districts,” according to the European Space Agency (ESA). Ten months later, response efforts are now moving into the...
Satellite technology became an integral part of efforts to detect and contain forest fires in Mecklenburg Western Pomerania, Germany at the end of June and early July. The German Aerospace Center (DLR) used satellite information, along with images captured by the Modular Aerial Camera System (MACS), to create maps, which provided emergency services with up-to-date information about areas affected...
Upon the request of the Ministry of Territorial Administration (MINAT), Government of Cameroon, UN-SPIDER carried out a week-long Institutional Strengthening Mission (ISM) to Yaoundé from 15 to 19 July. The mission aimed to strengthen the capacities of the Department of Civil Protection (DPC) of Cameroon in using space-based information in all phases of the disaster management cycle. It was the...
Facebook has published new population density maps covering most of the African continent and countries of the Asia-Pacific region in June 2019. Using artificial intelligence (AI), these maps help organizations to respond to natural disasters, and scientists to assess the impact of climate change and urbanization on people’s lives. As soon as almost the entire world population is covered by the...
Small and low-income countries can be disproportionately affected by natural disasters. For example, the top ten natural disasters between 1980 and 2017, in terms of greatest damage as a percentage of GDP, occurred in small and low-income countries, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its June 2019 policy paper, “Building Resilience in Developing Countries Vulnerable to Large...
Evaluating the safety and integrity of infrastructure such as bridges, which is often done through hands-on inspections, may soon be possible with the help of information captured several kilometers above the Earth’s surface. According to a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) news article, scientists from NASA, the University of Bath, and the Italian Space Agency used historical...
According to a new study by scientists from NASA and NOAA, tropical cyclones stall more frequently and stay longer near the coastline. This potentially leads to more precipitation over confined locations and thus an aggravation of tropical cyclone hazards for coastal populations. In the new study, scientists Hall and Kossin examined all tropical cyclones from 1944-2017 in the National Hurricane...
A recent study, published in the Water Resource Research journal, presents a new method for a spatially realistic national flood risk assessment. Researchers expanded an existing statistical model, based on U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) river flow data, to simulate a thousand years of potential flood events. By calculating the damage for each event in dollars, they were able to estimate the...
In the past year, “there were 315 natural disaster events recorded with 11,804 deaths, over 68 million people affected, and US$131.7 billion in economic losses around the world.” This is according to the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) in its recently released 2018 Natural Disasters Report. While these 2018 natural disaster values represent a decrease when compared...
In June 2019, NOAA upgraded its flagship weather model, the Global Forecast System (GFS), with a new dynamic core, called Finite-Volume Cubed-Sphere Dynamical Core (FV3). This upgrade of the GFS will enhance global numerical weather forecasting and better forecast precipitation, heavy rainfall and weather types at both regional and global level. Besides, the FV3-based GFS revealed improvements in...
In its recently released 2018 Annual Report, the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) provides an overview of the many projects and initiatives it engaged in during the past year to advance international cooperation in outer space. As one of the highlights, UNOOSA organized and hosted the UNISPACE+50 symposium in Vienna in June 2018 to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the...
On 12 June 2019, a trio of identical Canadian Earth observation satellites, which will help monitor climate change and save lives during natural disasters, among other applications, were successfully launched into space from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The satellites, collectively referred to as the RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RAM), follow the legacy of over two decades of Canadian RADARSAT...
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