Press Room

US plans storm warning system for East Africa

GENEVA (AP), 25 June 2008 — Cell phone users in East Africa will be able to receive warnings when a storm is brewing thanks to a low-cost alert system U.S. scientists are hoping to set up in the next few years, officials said Tuesday.

The NextStorm system — a computer program that analyzes recent satellite images to predict where thunderstorms are likely to occur in the next hour — should be in place by the end of the decade, said Jacqueline Schafer of USAID told journalists in Geneva.

The U.S. development agency has already set up a similar system set to begin operating this summer in Central America together with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NASA and local partners... Read full article on-line or download full text.

Central America gets new storm alert system

COSTA RICA (Daily News), 25 June 2008 — A new system of early forecasts for storms and bad weather, with alerts every 30 minutes, will be in operation this summer in Central America and southern Mexico, the intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations announced.

The system, dubbed NextStorm, will provide short-term forecasts of powerful electrical storms or heavy rainfall likely to cause flooding. The news came while Costa Rica is still fixing up the damage in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Alma.

NextStorm represents “a major advance in putting earth observation data and other tools to work in protecting people and livelihoods in southern Mexico and throughout Central America,” GEO Secretariat director José Achache said... Read full article on-line or download full text.

Atlas of Africa’s Changing Environment demonstrates power of Earth observations

Geneva, 10 June 2008 - The Africa edition of the United Nations Environment Programme's “Atlas of our Changing Environment” highlights how modern Earth observation systems can support action to address humanity’s growing impact on the natural environment.

By comparing satellite images and ground photos of specific locations taken 30 years ago and then again today, the Atlas makes it possible to truly comprehend the decade-scale changes occurring in the African environment.

UNEP has presented the Atlas, which was released on 10 June, as a contribution to the Global Earth Observation System of Systems. For more information and a link to the Atlas, you can download the full text .

Species Monitoring Seen Helping Slow Extinctions

Oslo, 10 April 2008 - A three-day meeting of 100 scientists and officials in Potsdam, Germany, will end on Thursday with a deal on building blocks for a "Biodiversity Observation Network" for animals and plants facing threats such as pollution or climate change... Download full text
For more information on the GEO Biodiversity Observation Network, see the GEO BON home page.