January 2025 – December 2026
Timely identification of emerging crises is crucial for effective humanitarian response. While traditional monitoring methods remain essential, they can sometimes prove inadequate, particularly when humanitarian emergencies arise in remote or inaccessible regions. Our project addresses this challenge by exploring satellite nighttime light (NTL) data as a proxy for the identification of crises. Available daily, at no cost, and in near-real time, NTL data offers unique insights into changes in livelihoods and human activity. By combining deep learning techniques with qualitative research methods, we are developing a tool that proactively detects unusual changes in NTL, with the aim of enabling the early detection of humanitarian crises in conflict contexts relevant to the ICRC.
ETH PI: Dr. Corinne Bara (Senior Researcher at the Center for Security Studies)
EPFL PI: Prof. Dr. Devis Tuia (Environmental Computational Science and Earth Observation Laboratory)
ICRC: Dr. Thao Ton-That Whelan (GIS and remote sensing analyst)
Partners: Dr. Valerie Sticher (postdoctoral researcher in Department of Political Science at University of Zurich)
Photo: Copyright: Reuters Caption: Gaza’s lone power plant shuts down amid tension with Israel (2020). Photographer: Mohammed Salem
