Visualizing complex risks for informed action

The links between environmental change, climate stress, conflict and the vulnerability of populations are complex, and access to data on these subjects is not straightforward. The result of a collaboration between Earth Blox, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the University of Edinburgh, Strata brings together data from a variety of sources to see and locate 'hotspots' - those areas most at risk.

🟢 Free access

Thermography of cities from space

A pioneering project to learn how to use satellite thermal data in cities, Thermocity has delivered a collection of analysis-ready-data thermal images. This collection has been used to generate 4 major product families:

• Evolution of impermeability/artificialization and characterization of vegetation in the city;
• Detection and characterization of thermal anomalies;
• Mapping urban heat islands and diagnosing vulnerability to the associated heat ;
• Urban climate modelling: cross-validation and future climate.

🟢 Free access

Identifying the vulnerability of urban environments during summer heat waves

Developed in the cities of Lille (France) and Rayong (Thailand), the project has established a methodology for classifying local climate zones derived exclusively from very high-resolution satellite images.

The issues identified are the vulnerability of urban environments during summer heat waves, and the adaptation and mitigation of local heat peaks.

🟢 The application's coding is open-source on Cerema's github and can be transposed to any city. Shapefile files for Lille and Rayong are available to download in the Resources section of the project page.

Supporting solutions based on urban vegetation

Supported by Cerema, the GUS project has developed a method for fine mapping urban vegetation in order to better assess its many ecosystem services. The results obtained in Greater Nancy are available online on the Landia platform (ex Green City) operated by TerraNIS. This platform offers summary indicators at different grids (hexagonal, urban morphological island, IRIS, municipalities, etc.), data explorers and summary dashboards.

🟢 Access to the Nancy demonstrator is open.

🟢 Based almost entirely on THR satellite images, the method can be replicated for any town => the algorithmic codes are available on Cerema's Github.

Managing hydrometeorological crises in real time

Developed in the Republic of Haiti, the GadeLapli system can be used anywhere in the world. Fed in real time with data from the COSPARIN programme, the 2D/3D platform displays rainfall estimates by analyzing satellite images and potentially flood-prone areas. Real-time support for the civil protection authorities, with the system complemented by the sending of e-mail or SMS alerts and indicators for monitoring the development of extreme hydrometeorological events.

🔵 Service marketed by Predict Services

Climate and environmental monitoring for early health warnings 

As many diseases are strongly linked to their environment, monitoring environmental and climatic dynamics can help predict their dynamics in space and time.

ClimHealth, an online early warning system, is a generic interface that can be adapted to any location, making it possible to visualize possible links between temporal and spatial epidemiological dynamics and those of rainfall, temperature or environmental indicators (such as water, vegetation or humidity indicators).

🟢 Free access. The codes for the application and the Sen2Chain processing chain are open source.

Developed for a single disease, leptospirosis in Yangon (Myanmar), the first demonstrator LeptoYangon can also be viewed online.

Predictive mapping of Aedes mosquito population densities

Aimed at Regional Health Agencies (ARS) and mosquito control operators, the Arbocarto-V2 application generates predictive maps of the abundance of Aedes albopictus or aegypti mosquitoes in a given area, depending on the user's choice, and can be used to simulate different prevention or control scenarios.

The tool is accompanied by a user manual and a methodological guide for creating or updating environmental data from satellite images.

🟢 Arbocarto is free software in .exe format, and can be requested from the Ministry of Health, which owns the tool, using the form available here. 

Assessing the vulnerability of coastal populations and economic activities

Developed for the city of St Louis in Senegal and replicable for other coastal areas, the SCO St Louis interface combines all types of data to estimate the socio-economic vulnerability of coastal cities to the effects of climate change and raise awareness among local players.

The mapping platform can be used to select and combine several layers of information, including historical floods, land use and essential infrastructure, as well as simulations of marine and river flooding according to different IPCC scenarios.

🟢 Free access

Improving resilience to extreme hydro-meteorological events

Developed as part of the FLAude project, FORO uses satellite observation to improve the resilience of areas to the risks of flooding caused by intense run-off.

A genuine decision-making tool, FORO offers interactive maps to pinpoint problem areas and the levers for action. FORO is gradually being rolled out across the 23 departments of the Mediterranean Arc.

🟢 Free access to results for the Aude department