Record low rainfall has triggered a disastrous drought in the Horn of Africa, causing a humanitarian crisis. Several individuals have been forced to leave their homes while many more are struggling with food scarcity due to a reduction of 40-70% in the average rainfall. This has resulted in water becoming a scarce resource. The lack of rainfall for one season can be disastrous, but experiencing six consecutive seasons without sufficient rain is beyond comprehension. The circumstances are so severe that the difference between survival and death can be measured in mere millimeters.
The Kenya Space Agency recently announced the launch of TAIFA-1 (“one nation” in Swahili), Kenya's first operational Earth Observation satellite, on April 11, 2023. The 3U Earth Observation satellite was developed by engineers from the Kenya Space Agency. The launch is set to be aided by the Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) from California, USA.
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Convened by the President of the General Assembly, the High-Level Meeting of the General Assembly on the Midterm Review of the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 (HLM) will take place from 18-19 May 2023 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
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On April 11 2023, EO Africa Research & Development Facility will offer an online webinar describing ways to monitor drought events using microwave Earth Observation data. The existing methods for calculating climate normals, anomalies and drought indicators will be described and demonstrated over Africa. The strength and weaknesses of the indicators and an evaluation with common drought indicators such as the Standardized Precipitation Index will be discussed. Furthermore, the use of soil moisture for early-season yield prediction will also be discussed.
Today, 3 April 2023, the 8th IAA Planetary Defense Conference started in Vienna, Austria, taking place until 7 April as a hybrid conference with two venues.
Scientists have been awarded £2 million to develop ways of alerting communities in South Africa, Zambia, and Mozambique to extreme weather. The project, a collaboration between researchers at the University of Leeds and the National Centre for Atmospheric Science, will focus on providing effective warnings to vulnerable communities that are more likely to be impacted by extreme weather. This includes people living in informal settlements close to rivers and those with disabilities who require early warnings to protect themselves and their property.
Digital public goods are key to achieving sustainable development, especially for low and middle-income countries. The Digital Public Goods Alliance, endorsed by the UN Secretary-General's Roadmap for Digital Cooperation, is a multi-stakeholder initiative that promotes and facilitates the discovery, development, use, and investment in digital public goods.
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The Data Working Group, together with the GEOSS Platform and the GEO Knowledge Hub teams, will host a two-day workshop on Open Data and Open Knowledge from June 15-16, 2023. The event will provide the GEO community with an opportunity to discuss technical advances, challenges, and solutions related to open knowledge practices. The event follows the endorsement of the GEO Statement on Open Knowledge in 2021 and seeks to empower all users to access and use open EO-based applications in the various engagement priorities and main conventions.
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The GEO Symposium 2023 is set to take place in person in Geneva on June 13-14, 2023, followed by the Open Data and Open Knowledge Workshop. This year's event marks a significant milestone for the global Earth observation community, as it will be the first in-person symposium since 2019.
