The Latest on Climate Data Analysis & What It Means for Humankind

The issue of climate change is incredibly complex and multifaceted. The sheer volume and variety of climate data is in and of itself daunting, let alone the sheer volume and variety of public opinion regarding the matter. We know that there is not one quick fix or one person to blame. But between carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, unsustainable farming and increased meat consumption, which culprit is the worst offender? How do we tell? 

‍

Well, the answer is: all of them as a whole. Each part of the industrial system needs its own solution. And, unfortunately, the solutions are very rarely straightforward, each carrying its own unique challenges and massive costs. We know that individual contributions, while well intentioned, are dwarfed by the scale of changes needed in technology, the economy, and politics. The key to real change is policy, and the key to changing policy is to convince politicians that people care about the climate crisis and their success depends on tackling climate change head on. 

‍

How do we get the people to care enough about climate change that they put pressure on their governments? That’s where climate data analysis comes in. 
‍

The Future of Climate Change Data is More Accessible

Data is no longer just for data scientists and analysts. Data is for everyone. Easy access to digestible data empowers people to make better, informed decisions. When average citizens have easy access to digestible climate data, they can make better, informed decisions about the world we live in. When people have access to intuitive climate analysis tools that provide illuminating data visualizations, they can really see all of the elements affecting the environment around them, how they relate, and draw their own conclusions about how we should move forward in tackling the climate crisis. 

‍

At the heart of accessible data is innovation. Modern climate analysis indicator tools and technologies are capable of ingesting massive earth observation and climate data sets so we can quickly analyze and describe the dynamic relationship between society and nature, and determine whether actions addressing climate change are succeeding or failing to mitigate it, all on a unified, collaborative, interactive platform. Read on to learn more about some of the most important climate data analysis tools and techniques and what they can teach us.
‍

Curbing Emissions

Global greenhouse gas emissions are produced by Energy, Industry, Waste, Agriculture, Forestry, and Land Use sectors. Major contributors in these sectors include energy use in commercial and residential buildings, deforestation, landfills, livestock & manure, road transportation, aviation, and more. Emissions from these sectors are measured with the use of remote sensors on satellites, airplanes, and drones. This spatiotemporal data in combination with IoT and climate data analysis software can be used to remotely monitor emissions from any source on the planet. 

‍

Being able to pinpoint sources and quantities of emissions is an important aspect of holding businesses and organizations accountable. Easy access to emissions data encourages transparency, and can help consumers decide which businesses are going green and which businesses to support. 
‍

Temperature Trends

Are temperatures really rising? How much have they risen? How much will they rise? We answer these questions with the use of trend analysis. Historical and current temperature data collected from sensors and satellites is used in combination with simple linear regression to estimate linear trends and statistical significance. The Mann-Kendall test can also be used to assess monotonic trend significance. 

‍

Sounds complicated, but you don’t have to perform time-series analysis of climate data by hand. Modern visual analytics platforms integrate these capabilities and can instantly, seamlessly ingest and consolidate temperature data into a unified space, where users can use data discovery tools to explore their data in interactive visualizations that illuminate trends and patterns. Combined with emissions data, we can conclude and when and where there is a correlation between certain activities and rising temperatures. 
‍

Rising Sea Levels

One of the most concerning aspects of climate change is rising sea levels and its impact on coastal cities. Geographic Information Systems (GIS), satellite altimeters, radio waves, and remote tide gauges play a big part in our ability to measure sea levels over time. Microwave remote sensing data can also be pulled from GIS and used to monitor sea ice, and fleets of aquatic robots are used to measure water temperatures. 

‍

This data, in combination with predictive models, can be used not only to create predictions, but also in combination with software that can create flood simulations. Why is this important? Perception. You can tell people that sea levels are rising and give them a spreadsheet of numbers, and it likely won’t have much of an impact. However, if you show them predictive data in the form of flood simulations, the real implications are likely to be more impactful, and the average person is more likely to consider the reality of the climate crisis with real-life scenarios. 
‍

The HEAVY.AI Difference

We have a wealth of data at our fingertips to help combat climate change. But that data is only as useful as our ability to actually use it to draw actionable conclusions. Tried and true methods for measuring our impact on the environment combined with modern technology gives us the power to uncover otherwise hidden insights and solutions. Climate change data analysis technologies and methods need a tool that can handle the variety, volume, and velocity of environmental data facing us today. 

‍

Developing an effective strategy for combating a crisis of such magnitude requires an advanced solution that can help us connect the dots between the massive array of climate data, map out different scenarios with climate scenario analysis tools, and predict events before they happen. HEAVY.AI provides all of this and more. 

‍

HEAVY.AI is used to find real-time data insights beyond the limits of mainstream analytics tools. While the enormous volumes of data collected by modern environmental monitoring sensors and IoT devices easily overwhelm legacy GIS tools, HEAVY.AI’s climate data analysis capabilities enable analysts to cross-filter billions of location data records and polygons alongside other features in milliseconds. Now with HEAVY.AI 6.0, native raster and Earth observation / imagery data can be instantly loaded into HEAVY.AI with ease, and our geospatial data platform can map and analyze your largest geospatial and time-series datasets in previously impossible ways. 

‍

HEAVY.AI’s interactive data visualizations provide a dynamic, immersive view of the complicated relationship between earth and humankind. Join our webinar to see HEAVY.AI 6.0 in action on April 20 and learn how you can apply our newest capabilities to your critical workflows.

‍