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The help of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been deployed by tech firms and NGOs worldwide to fight the climate change crisis. Gadgets 360 caught up with some, including the team at Sustainable Environment and Ecological Development Society (SEEDS) — a New Delhi-based NGO — and IBM India, to talk about their efforts to apply tech to mitigate the climate crisis.

Although big tech companies are now moving towards measures to become more sustainable (Apple and Facebook have pledged to be carbon neutral by the end of the decade), a lot remains to be done, and this is one of the areas where artificial intelligence is making an impact.

With the UN Climate Change Conference that began in Glasgow on October 31, the discourse on the global climate change crisis is back in the spotlight. The 26th edition of the Conferences of the Parties (COP26) will go on till November 14 and will see global leaders, academic experts, and activists gathering to discuss how to contain the rise in global temperatures.

But while world leaders develop policies and long-term plans, we spoke to companies innovating on the ground to see how they can help contribute to change.

Evading disasters through Sunny Lives

SEEDS developed Sunny Lives, an AI-powered disaster impact model that uses high-resolution satellite imagery to assess the risks of hazard at a hyper-local level. The Sunny Lives project has been executed in partnership with Microsoft and technology partner Gramener, and is being supported under Microsoft’s global programme ‘Artificial Intelligence for Humanitarian Action’.

Mridula Garg, who is leading the Sunny Lives project at SEEDS said that Sunny Lives detects building footprints and then assigns them relative risk scores as values from 1 to 5. “The model takes into account the type of hazard say floods or heat waves, analyses the exposure based on geographic parameters such as slope and vegetation, and uses building classification as a proxy for the socio-economic vulnerability of the inhabitants. The relative risk score assigned after detecting the building footprints is used by our disaster response teams for prioritising families at highest risk,” Garg said.

During the application for an impending cyclone, satellite imagery is procured for Areas of Interest that are selected based on the cyclone’s predicted path issued by the IMD. The Sunny Lives AI Model is then run for these areas to generate the risk scores.

It was clear to the team at SEEDS that the type of building played a significant role in predicting the effect of a disaster on it. For example, a concrete house and a thatched roof dwelling would face a difference in impact from a cyclone even when they are located next to each other. The model was developed from the desire to code this knowledge so that disaster risk assessment could be scaled widely.

Microsoft’s data science team and tech partner Gramener used machine learning to automate the process of identifying dwellings and their types. Satellite images of low-income, highly dense and vulnerable settlements in India were used to identify 7 different categories of dwellings including tarpaulin roofs, metal sheet roofs, double side sloping tiled roofs etc.

The AI model was trained on 15,000 buildings from low-income, highly dense, and vulnerable settlements of Puri and Mumbai. The 15,000 buildings were tagged to build the training dataset for the AI inundation model. A similar exercise is now being done for the cities of Dehradun and Gangtok as the model is being adapted for assessing earthquake risks.

Sunny Lives was deployed at a scale for the first time during cyclone Yaas in May 2021. The model was run for Puri in Odisha, based on which SEEDS reached out to over 1,000 families that were identified as high-risk. Advisories were shared which outlined the steps to be taken in case of evacuation and also suggested low-cost measures to reduce

Garg said that post-disaster impact surveys highlighted that 97 percent of the families found the information useful and were able to reduce losses and take preemptive measures during the cyclone. “In addition, we have recently concluded around 1,500 ground truthing surveys in Puri which will help analyse and further improve the accuracy of the model,” said Garg.

An AI model like Sunny Lives provides an unending possibility to scale across urban geographies and is being adapted for multiple hazards. Deploying the model at scale through collaborations is the next key focus for SEEDS. “We have gathered a lot of interest from several state government authorities and are reaching out to many more. Our vision is to integrate the use of the model for climate change adaptation and disaster management in a way that the hyper-local risk of the communities is understood and pathways for their protection and resilience are put into practice,” Garg said.

Tech firms’ solution to counting CO2

Major companies around the globe have pledged to stop climate change. These companies are facing a challenge with quantifying their emissions and understanding the best way to mitigate the climate change crisis. In response to this, several tech firms have come up with solutions to help businesses prepare for and respond to climate risks.

Salesforce’s team built the Salesforce Sustainability Cloud with a mission to track emissions. The Sustainability Cloud is priced at $4,000 (roughly Rs. 3 lakh) a month. Microsoft is also previewing a tool for calculating emissions called Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability. They are aiming to make it available by mid-2022.

IBM also recently brought out a suite of environmental intelligence software that uses AI to help organisations prepare for and respond to climate risks. The team from IBM said that the suite will help businesses which have deployed it to more easily assess their impact on the planet, and reduce the complexity of regulatory compliance and reporting.

“We wanted to make it easier for companies to both manage and to know about the risk affecting their business operations and to act differently in order to minimise the risks,” said Gargi Dasgupta, Director, IBM Research, India.

The suite puts existing weather data from various sources to use to collect and compile data. IBM said in its blog post that the suite is a Software as a Service (SaaS) solution designed to help organisations monitor for disruptive environmental conditions, predict the potential impacts of climate change, prioritise mitigation and response efforts, and measure and report on environmental initiatives. The IBM Environmental Intelligence Suite utilises the AI-driven innovations from IBM Research.

Shantanu Godbole, the technical lead of IBM’s global research team, said that while assessing how technology would impact climate change, they focused on two areas — mitigation and adaptation. “Mitigation works towards helping organisations meet their net zero carbon emission goals, optimisation of their emissions, and making their business processes more sustainable,” he said.

Godbole added that the focus of their team in terms of adaptation was to help businesses adapt to extreme weather conditions. “Weather forecasting is done for upto one to two weeks into the future. No data is available on the scale of six months or three years down the line. That is a horizon that is an important opportunity area from a planning and decision making perspective. We feel enterprises need to have technology to help make decisions at those times,” Godbole said.


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NASA Data Empowers Global Response to Rising Sea Levels

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NASA Data Empowers Global Response to Rising Sea Levels

Coastal communities around the world are confronting the realities of rising sea levels, which threaten both daily life and essential infrastructure. In response, NASA has collaborated with agencies such as the US Department of Defense, the World Bank, and the United Nations to deliver detailed data on global sea level rise. This information, accessible through NASA’s Earth Information Center, is intended to aid in the preparation and planning for coastal impacts expected through the year 2150.

As per a report by NASA, the centre offers projections of future sea levels and potential regional flooding over the next 30 years. The report highlights that this resource combines data from NASA’s ongoing satellite monitoring with computer modelling of ice sheet dynamics and ocean behaviour, alongside assessments from global authorities like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. These tools are designed to equip communities with accurate data on which they can base crucial coastal infrastructure and climate resilience plans.

Global Applications of NASA’s Data

Global institutions are using NASA’s sea level data to shape policies and implement adaptive strategies in vulnerable regions, the report mentioned. The World Bank, for example, integrates this information into Climate Risk Profiles for countries most susceptible to rising sea levels. Similarly, the U.S. Department of Defense leverages the data to foresee and mitigate the impacts on its coastal facilities, while the U.S. Department of State uses the information in disaster preparedness and adaptation planning for its international allies, the report further adds.

Selwin Hart, Assistant Secretary-General and special adviser to the United Nations on climate action, described the data as “a critical resource for protecting lives and livelihoods,” emphasising the disparity in impacts between a global warming limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius and current policy projections. This data, he noted, underscores the urgent need for action in vulnerable coastal areas.

Accelerating Rise of Global Sea Levels

The current rate of sea level rise has been shown to increase significantly, with nearly all coastal countries observing heightened sea levels from 1970 to 2023. According to Ben Hamlington, head of NASA’s sea level change team, the rise in sea levels is occurring at an accelerated pace, with average increases nearly doubling over the past three decades. Notably, NASA’s projections indicate that Pacific Island nations will see at least a 15-centimetre rise by 2050, accompanied by a marked increase in high-tide flooding.

The new data platform, as explained by Nadya Vinogradova Shiffer, director of NASA’s ocean physics programme, allows communities worldwide to anticipate future flooding scenarios.

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Ancient pebbles in Israel hint at the earliest form of wheel technology

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Ancient pebbles in Israel hint at the earliest form of wheel technology

Archaeologists in Israel have uncovered doughnut-shaped pebbles that may be among the earliest forms of wheel-like technology. Found at the Nahal Ein Gev II site in northern Israel, these 12,000-year-old limestone pebbles feature central holes and are thought to have been used as spindle whorls—a tool for spinning fibres like flax and wool.

Talia Yashuv, a graduate student and co-author of the study at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Institute of Archaeology, told LiveScience that these ancient artefacts suggest early experimentation with rotational tools that could have laid the foundation for later advancements like the potter’s wheel and the cart wheel. This discovery was published in PLOS One on November 13, offering a glimpse into pre-agricultural technology in the region.

The roughly 100 perforated pebbles were analysed by Yashuv and Leore Grosman, a professor of prehistoric archaeology at the same institute. After scanning each pebble in 3D, the team produced detailed models to assess their potential uses. Most of the pebbles were thought unlikely to serve as fishing weights or beads due to their size and shape, which diverge from artefacts used in similar periods. Instead, the team recreated spindle whorls from the scanned models, which traditional craft expert Yonit Crystal used to spin flax and wool. While the flax was easier to handle, the replicas demonstrated that the pebbles were likely effective as spindle whorls, supporting early textile production, the study noted.

Implications of the Findings

The findings indicate that these spindle whorls could mark a key point in technological evolution, potentially linked to new methods of storage and survival. Alex Joffe, a director at the Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa and experienced archaeologist, told LiveScience that the possibility that these artefacts could have enabled innovations like bags or fishing lines. Yorke Rowan, an archaeology professor at the University of Chicago, echoed this view, noting that the analysis represents a “critical turning point” in early technology.

A Continuing Debate

While these pebbles may represent one of the earliest uses of wheel-like forms, Carole Cheval, an expert in prehistoric textiles at CEPAM in France, told that the publication that she observed that similar objects have been found in other regions, possibly from earlier periods. This adds another layer to understanding the origins of rotational technology, highlighting the ongoing exploration of ancient human innovation.

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Binar satellites re-enter early due to high solar activity

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Binar satellites re-enter early due to high solar activity

An increase in solar activity has resulted in the early re-entry of three CubeSats from Curtin University’s Binar Space Program. These small satellites, which operated at low Earth orbit, were designed to last for at least six months. However, due to intensified solar conditions, they were destroyed within two months, significantly shortening their scientific mission.

CubeSats like Binar-2, 3 and 4 are particularly vulnerable to space weather impacts because they lack propulsion systems that could counteract the heightened atmospheric drag caused by solar activity. The satellite programme had launched Binar-1 in 2021 during relatively low solar activity, which allowed it to complete a full year in orbit.

The Science Behind Solar Activity

As per a report by The Conversation, solar activity, which includes phenomena such as solar flares, sunspots and solar wind, follows an 11-year cycle driven by the Sun’s magnetic field. Known as “solar cycle 25,” this phase has shown unexpected activity levels, currently over 1.5 times higher than projected. This has impacted not only the Binar satellites but also large-scale operations like the Starlink constellation and the International Space Station, both of which require continuous adjustments to counter increased drag.

Impact of Space Weather on Satellites and Earth

Increased solar activity generates higher levels of ionising radiation and charged particles. This can damage sensitive satellite electronics, disrupt radio communications and increase radiation exposure for astronauts. The intensified solar conditions have also expanded the Earth’s atmosphere outward, leading to increased drag for satellites in low Earth orbit. This affects many smaller satellites, which lack the capability to adjust their altitude.

The recent solar activity has also created more visible auroras, with these atmospheric light displays appearing closer to the equator than seen in decades.

Future Considerations for Space Missions

Despite current challenges, solar activity is expected to decline gradually, reaching a minimum by 2030. This pause may offer more favourable conditions for future missions. In response to current conditions, work has commenced on future Binar missions, which may benefit from a more predictable space weather environment.

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