Global Climate News

India's ISRO plans key 2025 missions including Gaganyaan's uncrewed orbital test, two GSLV missions, a commercial LVM3 launch with AST SpaceMobile, and the NISAR Earth observation satellite collaboration with NASA. The NISAR satellite will provide data on agriculture, natural disasters, and climate monitoring.

France has experienced significant glacier melt, impacting Mont Blanc's stability and causing increased rockfalls. Geomorphologist Ludovic Ravanel's research highlights the link between climate change and these events, emphasizing the need for safety measures and route reassessment for mountaineers. The mayor of Saint-Gervais proposed a €15,000 deposit for climbers, covering rescue and funeral costs.

Oregon State University scientists developed statewide wildfire hazard and wildland-urban interface maps for the Oregon Department of Forestry. The maps, updated every five years and available online, use climate, weather, topography, and vegetation data to assess wildfire risk. Approximately 106,000 tax lots (6% of all tax lots) are identified as high-risk, and landowners will receive notification and resources. By law, the maps cannot be used by insurers to adjust rates.

India's Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare has implemented numerous schemes to improve agricultural practices and support farmers. These include the PM-KISAN income support scheme (over Rs 3.46 lakh Cr disbursed), the PMFBY crop insurance scheme (over ₹1.70 lakh crore in claims paid), and the AIF providing infrastructure financing (₹51,364 crore sanctioned). The Digital Agriculture Mission (₹2,817 crore budget) aims to modernize agriculture through technology. Other initiatives focus on promoting natural farming, improving water use efficiency, and boosting oilseed production (NMEO-Oilseeds, Rs 10,103 crore outlay). The ministry also developed 109 climate-resilient crop varieties.

India's Ministry of Panchayati Raj implemented various initiatives in 2024 to promote environmental sustainability and climate resilience. Over 2.5 lakh Panchayats received localized climate data for weather forecasting. The ministry also launched a training module on Own Source Revenue to make Panchayats self-reliant and sustainable, and promoted the use of renewable energy and carbon neutrality in the National Panchayat Awards 2024.

A machine learning-based approach has been developed to predict abrupt shifts in Sudano–Sahelian dryland vegetation functioning, achieving 75.1% accuracy and 76.6% precision. The approach incorporates measures of resilience, vegetation and rainfall dynamics, and other environmental factors. Regional-scale predictions for 2025 indicate a high probability of future shifts in a southern belt of the study region, primarily linked to long-term rainfall trends. This approach can support conservation and sustainable use of dryland ecosystem services.

India's Union Cabinet approved the continuation of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS) until 2025-26, with a total outlay of Rs. 69,515.71 Crore. Additionally, a Fund for Innovation and Technology (FIAT) with Rs. 824.77 Crore was approved to support technological initiatives like YES-TECH (using remote sensing for yield estimation) and WINDS (establishing weather stations and rain gauges).

US-based researchers have developed HydroLang FRAM, a web-based framework for flood risk and mitigation assessment. The framework integrates data from FEMA, USACE, and the Iowa Flood Center to provide damage estimations and visualizations for various flood scenarios. It is freely available and uses JavaScript, HTML, and CSS.

\"The Dominican Republic has implemented a methodology for identifying optimal sites for a meteorological station network using a multi-criteria decision-making framework based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and neighborhood analysis. The study used geospatial variables like seasonality, habitat heterogeneity, and elevation to prioritize areas with high topographic and climatic variability. Three density scenarios (100, 150, and 250 km2 per station) were proposed for network expansion.\"

The Indian Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) has undertaken various initiatives in 2024 related to climate, ocean, and weather research. These include launching the Mission Mausam (2,000 crore outlay), approving the PRITHVi Vigyan scheme (Rs. 4,797 crores), and establishing new facilities like High-Performance Computers, Doppler Weather Radars, and the Integrated Ocean Energy Atlas. The MoES also participated in international collaborations and agreements like the BBNJ agreement and the 46th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting.

The study analyzes 83 publications from 2019-2024 to identify emerging trends in geospatial data use. It highlights the use of AI and machine learning in environmental monitoring (e.g., deforestation, ice melt), urban planning, and disaster response, emphasizing the alignment with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The private sector's role is crucial, with companies like Maxar Technologies and Planet Labs contributing to high-resolution imagery and AI-driven analytics for climate action and sustainable development.

The Kaska Dena, guided by Traditional Knowledge and Western science, are using audio recorders to monitor bird populations on their ancestral lands. This bioacoustics research project, led by the Dane Nan YḗDāh Network, involves deploying sound recording units (ARUs) and analyzing the data with machine learning algorithms. The results will support the proposed Kaska IPCA, Dene K’éh Kusān, which aims to protect this important bird habitat and address the global climate change and biodiversity loss crises.

India's Department of Land Resources has launched the NAKSHA program under the DILRMP scheme to create land records in 150 urban cities. The Watershed Development Component of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (WDC-PMKSY) has also been implemented, focusing on spring shed management and benefiting 9.86 lakh farmers. A total of ₹4,574.54 crore (56%) of the central share has been disbursed for 1,150 sanctioned projects.

The UNDP Accelerator Lab in North Macedonia, in collaboration with the Scaling-up Actions to Tackle Air Pollution project and UNV volunteers, concluded a campaign mapping global solutions to air pollution. The campaign produced a global solutions catalogue, an open dataset on SDG Innovation Commons (134 solutions), and a visual overview of key findings. These resources aim to inspire stakeholders and catalyze action to improve air quality in North Macedonia and beyond.

England's Natural England has reported on investigations into the deaths of three tagged hen harriers, revealing ongoing threats to biodiversity conservation. Two of the three investigated birds were found with shotgun pellets, indicating illegal persecution, while one died of natural causes. The findings demonstrate the continued challenges in protecting endangered species despite increased monitoring efforts through satellite tracking.

A new Trend Sheet publication has been released focusing on digital solutions for water governance and management. The report explores how satellite technology, sensors, AI, and advanced monitoring tools are being implemented to improve water resource management, from predictive maintenance to crisis management. The publication provides insights into digitalization and data management applications in the water sector.

The UK's Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) has appointed Tom Meagher as interim Chair from January 2025 to June 2025. Meagher, a Professor of Plant Biology at the University of St Andrews, leads initiatives in remote sensing technology for biodiversity assessment and has been instrumental in developing plant biodiversity conservation programs internationally.

Natural England has released a major update to its Living England national habitat map, which provides detailed information on 16 different habitats across England for 2022-23. The map uses machine learning and satellite imagery to track land use changes and support environmental monitoring, conservation planning, and biodiversity requirements. The project is developed through the Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment (NCEA) programme and partially funded by Environmental Land Management schemes.

US-based Microsoft has announced SPARROW, a solar-powered AI-powered edge computing solution for biodiversity monitoring in remote locations. The open-source project will collect data via sensors and transmit it via satellite, aiming for global deployment by the end of 2025.

Switzerland-based ETH Zurich has utilized satellite data and machine learning to develop systems for monitoring climate change impacts, such as snow cover and tree health. In collaboration with ExoLabs, they have created a commercial service for daily snow depth maps. ETH Zurich also works with the International Committee of the Red Cross to map war damage and population density using satellite data. Additionally, they are developing an early-warning system for forest health and tracking ice sheet melting in Greenland and Antarctica.