By Bijal Brahmbhatt,
The world is witnessing a concerning surge in the frequency and intensity of climate change induced natural disasters, from devastating hurricanes and wildfires to widespread floods and heatwaves. Beyond the visible devastation, a subtle yet equally significant crisis is unfolding—the impact of natural disasters on human health and access to quality healthcare.
In recent years, mounting evidence has revealed the severe impact of climate change on communities, particularly exacerbating vulnerabilities among children, women, the elderly, and tribal groups. These challenges are further amplified by systemic barriers such as limited healthcare facilities and dwindling resources. In 2022, India documented 2,227 human casualties from extreme weather events, as reported in the Annual Statement on Climate by the India Meteorological Department. The ramifications of this for developing nations like India are substantial, necessitating a focus on enhancing community resilience to mitigate disaster-related risks and safeguard health and well-being.
Linking Public Health, Community Resilience and Disaster Response
The interplay between disaster readiness and community resilience is crucial, particularly in how they collectively affect access to public health. Effective disaster management not only involves preparedness, response, and recovery from natural events, but also strengthening community resilience to adapt to such changes. This dual focus is vital as inadequate healthcare access in disaster-prone areas can escalate the risk of diseases and fatalities.
Improving the resilience and accessibility of healthcare systems is essential not only for reducing the negative health effects of natural disasters but also for strengthening the ability of communities to withstand and adapt to these challenges. In this context, the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) becomes significant, offering innovative solutions to bolster both disaster and community resilience, ensuring long-term health and safety. In this light, Mahila Housing Trust’s initiative for Geo AI Flood Vulnerability mapping fusing Remote Sensing data and Machine Learning techniques in Amalner, Maharashtra serves as a pioneering example.
GeoAI: Revolutionizing Environmental Analysis
The GeoAI project’s mapping of flood-vulnerable zones plays a crucial role in understanding and mitigating the risks associated with it. With the potential impact on the population, infrastructure, and effective flood management strategies, it becomes important to analyze areas prone to flooding as well. In this, various criteria are evaluated for deducing the susceptibility of an area. Similarly, extracting climate and precipitation patterns can give great insight into flood vulnerability assessment – further facilitating timely disaster management for communities living and working in topographies susceptible to climate adversities.
AI has the ability to factor in continuously evolving climate variables to make more informed decisions and predictions about environmental changes, ultimately aiding in the implementation of early warning systems and effective mitigation strategies. Projects where AI’s capabilities are harnessed to enhance disaster preparedness, enable community resilience, and ultimately contribute to better public health outcomes. When used consciously, AI and ML can demonstrate not only innovation, but also empower communities to adapt and thrive in face of climate challenges.
Growing Global Interest in AI and Climate Change
Recognizing the pivotal role of AI in bolstering disaster and community resilience, the imminent COP28 emerged as a critical global platform for dialogue. At the Dubai Future Forum, Ambassador Majid Al-Suwaidi underscored at the forum that climate technologies, including AI, must be both accessible and affordable. COP28 Changemakers, a panel of thematic and area experts emphasized AI’s significance in climate mitigation, emphasizing inclusive design and deployment to ensure benefits reach all demographic groups. Further drawing home the need to maintain a future outlook, keeping in mind the role AI will take in mitigating climate change.
Clearly, diverse stakeholders like governments, healthcare professionals, civil society organizations, and philanthropists must unite to invest in and deploy AI-driven solutions like the GeoAI project. These efforts should focus on making AI technologies accessible and inclusive, ensuring that they benefit the most vulnerable communities. Addressing ethical considerations and potential biases within AI systems is also crucial, which can help ensure transparency and equity in their application for disaster resilience.
As we advance in our technological capabilities, it is critical to ensure that these innovations serve the greater good, especially for those most in need. Despite limitations, AI stands as a valuable tool in collaborative efforts to explore and implement disruptive technological solutions for climate resilience.
The author is Executive Director at Mahila Housing Trust, Mahila Housing Trust is also a part of ClimateRISE Alliance; she holds a degree in Civil Engineering and has a certificate in Urban Planning and Management, from the Institute of Housing Studies, Netherlands.
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