Introduction
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU),
World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and
UN Environment Programme (UNEP) organized a workshop to explore the uses of artificial intelligence (AI) in supporting natural disaster prediction/early warning as well as improving our understanding of hazards and disasters. The Workshop took place on
23 June 2021, from 10h00 -15h30 CEST. This Workshop wil be followed by the second meeting of the ITU/WMO/UNEP
Focus Group on AI for Natural Disaster Management (FG-AI4NDM),
24-25 June 2021.
Objectives
The workshop elaborated on the role that AI plays (or could play) to support data collection and handling, improve modelling across spatiotemporal scales, and provide effective communication in the event of a natural disaster. Encompassing four sessions, the workshop had high-caliber scientific and technical presentations followed by interactive discussions.
Target Audience
The focus group workshops are freely open to ITU Member States, Sector Members, Associates and Academic Institutions and to any individual from an ITU member country. This includes individuals who are members of international, regional and national organizations.
Participation
Registration was mandatory to attend the workshop.
Please note that separate registration is required to attend the FG-AI4NDM meeting, 24 - 25 June 2021.
Watch recording here
Programme
10:00 - 10:05
| Opening Remarks
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10:05 - 10:50
| Session 1: Introduction to ITU/WMO/UNEP FG-AI4NDM and Keynotes
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10:50 - 12:10 | Session 2: AI for communications
The session will address how AI can support effective communication for natural hazard-related emergencies. Presentation themes will include: how AI-based technologies can be used to support early warning systems and dashboards, how the perspective of stakeholders can be integrated in the development of such technologies, and the relevance of such technologies for disaster risk reduction at the national, regional, and international levels.
Session Chair: Ahmed Riad, Senior Director, Strategy and Industry Development, Huawei
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Adam Fysh, Coordinator, Global Risk Analysis and Reporting Section, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction [
Presentation ]
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Ioannis Andredakis, Senior Analyst on Disaster, Directorate for Civil Protection and Humanitarian Operations, European Commission:
"Projects using AI for Disaster Management by the Civil Protection Directorate of the European Commission” [
Presentation ]
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Thomas Ward, AI Project Leader, IBM and Rinku Kanwar, Software Designer, IBM:
"Operations Risk Insights with Watson:
how IBM and our non-profit partners apply AI to identifies and mitigate global natural disasters" [
Presentation ]
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12:10 - 12:30 |
Break
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12:30 - 13:50 |
Session 3: AI for modeling (forecasting, and projecting)
The session will delve into the use of AI for forecasting and projecting natural disasters. Use cases will cover floods, volcanoseismic events, wildfires, and atmospheric extremes.
Session Chair: Peter Dueben, AI and Machine Learning Coordinator, European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF)
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Feyera Hirpa, Senior Data Scientist, One Concern Inc.: "Applications of AI in flood prediction" [
Presentation ]
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Corentin Caudron, Research Officer, Research Institute for Development (IRD): "Towards forecasting eruptions using Machine Learning of volcano seismic data"
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Helen Li, Senior AI Researcher, China Academy of Information and Communication Technology (CAICT): "An Intelligent Analysis System for Wilefire Management Using AI" [
Presentation ]
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Thomas Spengler, Professor, University of Bergen: "Exploring multi-modalities in weather prediction using machine learning techniques" [
Presentation ]
Q&A
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13:50 - 15:20
| Session 4: AI for data (monitoring and detecting)
The session will focus on how AI can be used to monitor data streams and detect events in real time. Use cases will cover locust plagues and atmospheric extremes. Session Chair: Robin Bell, Professor, Columbia University, & President, American Geophysical Union
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Hadia Samil, Researcher, MILA Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute
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Nicolas Longépé, Earth Observation Data Scientist, Phi-lab Explore Office, European Space Agency (ESA/ESRIN):
"The Rise of Artificial Intelligence for Earth Observation (AI4EO): on the detection and characterization of events in Near Real Time" [
Presentation ]
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Andrea Toreti,
Senior Scientist/Scientific Officer at the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC), Italy: "AI-enhanced climate services: identifying, monitoring, and predicting Areas of Concern" [
Presentation ]
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Miguel-Ángel Fernández-Torres, Post-Doctoral Researcher, University of Valencia: "Deep Learning and Explainable AI for spatio-temporal drought monitoring" [
Presentation ]
Q&A
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