FEWS NET announces its progressive return to full comprehensive reporting capacity. This reinstatement aims to ensure early warning systems and food security assessments, providing essential data to inform decision-making worldwide. The announcement also provides a food security outlook through September 2025 for specific high risk regions.
The World Meteorological Organization published their 2024 State of the Global Climate, addressing the Earth's warmest year on record, with a 1.55 °C increase in near-surface temperature. The report highlights extreme weather events, as well as population displacement due to climate related risks.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Data in Emergencies (DIEM) released an impact assessment following the Myanmar Earthquakes on March 28, 2025. Presented as a story map, it focuses on agriculture and livestock exposure in the heavily impacted Sagaing and Mandalay regions.
A recent AGU Advances study highlights how satellite data, particularly synthetic aperture radar (SAR), supported disaster response during the 2023 Hawaii wildfires. Rapid damage assessment improved relief efforts. Scaling this impact requires faster data processing, automation, and global collaboration to help humanitarian organizations fully leverage Earth science for disaster response.
The NASA Disasters Program provided satellite data in response to the Southern California wildfires in January 2025 to support response efforts. Some highlights include International Space Station images, burn severity of vegetation and urban surfaces utilizing Sentinel, and nighttime composites from VIIRS.
Direct Relief mobilizes resources to assist communities impacted by California wildfires, delivering medical supplies, financial aid, and recovery support. By partnering with local organizations and leveraging real-time data, they ensure life-saving resources reach those in need efficiently.
This op-ed from Brian Perlman emphasizes the severe impact of damaged water infrastructure in Gaza, with access to clean water reaching a critical low. Satellite data has been instrumental in highlighting this crisis by mapping damaged areas, identifying contamination zones, and providing actionable insights into infrastructure needs.
Mercy Corps' recent analysis explores the application of Nighttime Light Reflectance (NLR) data as a proxy for economic and human activity in regions lacking reliable information. The report serves as a primer on NLR analysis, offering aid organizations a "menu" of potential applications to support evidence-driven decisions in data-scarce environments.
In Sudan’s Zamzam camp, where famine and conflict intersect, Reuters employed satellite imagery to document mass graves. Leveraging data from providers like Airbus, Maxar, and Umbra Space, journalists tracked over 1,200 new burial mounds since mid-2023.
This monthly summary captures emerging trends, challenges, and actionable insights in humanitarian efforts. Highlights include strategies for engaging armed actors to protect civilians, community perspectives on humanitarian protection in the DRC, and the critical impacts of attacks on health facilities in Syria.
