Satellites Help Solve the Climate Crisis: DW

Over the course of three decades, satellite images from space agencies like NASA and ESA demonstrate how Earth’s changing weather patterns affect land, water and communities. Satellites monitor the rising carbon dioxide levels, rising seas, flooding, global temperatures, tree loss and gains, and more. A mission under development known as the Environmental Mapping and Analysis Program, or EnMap, “uses a high-resolution hyperspectral sensor technology to monitor Earth's ecosystem,” reports Olivera Zivkovic for Deutsche Welle. The system allows for better images and can detect changes not visible to the human eye. Researchers suggest that the new satellites are sensitive enough to detect the effects of microplastics in waterways, gauge unusual water use, and predict nutrient deficiency or pest infestations in crops. The satellites provide an early warning system so that governments, companies and NGOs can respond. Governments fund the programs and scientists develop the tools, but political will to analyze and act on the data may be lacking – YaleGlobal