Earthpulse is a space-enabled risk intelligence platform that helps governments and institutions understand, anticipate and reduce the impacts of natural hazards. By combining satellite Earth Observation with local data, advanced modelling and on-the-ground knowledge, Earthpulse transforms fragmented information into clear, actionable insights for prevention, preparedness and resilience planning. 

The challenge

In the Dominican Republic, extreme events are becoming more frequent and severe, driven by recurrent Atlantic storms, steep terrain and highly variable rainfall. Yet despite decades of emergencies, the national understanding of flood and landslide risk remained fragmented, with no comprehensive flood history, incomplete landslide records, limited high-resolution rainfall data and scattered local datasets. This lack of a clear risk baseline has kept prevention largely reactive, making it difficult for authorities to anticipate where impacts will occur and to plan effective long-term resilience strategies.

The satellite solution

Earthpulse uses Earth Observation to provide governments with continuous, objective and country-wide visibility of risk, including during extreme weather and in hard-to-access areas. Radar satellites can see through clouds, which is critical during storms, while EO data allow authorities to reconstruct past events, monitor current conditions and anticipate future hazards by tracking changes in water, soil moisture, vegetation and terrain stability. When combined with local rainfall measurements, terrain models and socioeconomic data, this approach delivers a more complete and reliable picture of risk, reducing uncertainty and supporting better-targeted prevention efforts. 

In the Dominican Republic, this solution transformed fragmented and incomplete information into a coherent national risk baseline. Satellite data were used to build the country’s first flood and landslide inventories, develop risk maps for critical infrastructure, and model where future events are most likely to occur, including under climate change scenarios—laying the groundwork for an EO-enabled Early Warning System. 

The work was commissioned by the World Bank under ESA’s GDA Fast EO Co-Financing Facility, ensuring alignment with national priorities and coordination across institutions. ESA provided the Earth Observation framework, tools and data access, while International Financing Institutions such as the World Bank helped bridge EO innovation and national resilience planning. The solution was developed in two phases: first, rebuilding the missing baseline, and second, translating insights into operational, scalable risk tools the government can expand over time. 

The results

• Faster prevention: Authorities now see where risks concentrate before disasters hit.  

• Better planning: Infrastructure, housing, and emergency budgets can be prioritised transparently.  

• A living framework: Every new satellite image or rainfall event strengthens the national risk model.  

• Supports early warning: The foundation is now in place for alerts rooted in evidence, not guesswork.  

• Scalable region-wide: The same approach works for other Caribbean nations with similar pressures.  

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GeoCodis Ltd. is a high-tech Slovenian company specialising in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Earth Observation (EO), and Geo-information Systems (GIS). The company, established in 2014, has headquarters in Slovenia with branch offices in Canary Islands, Spain, and Uganda. The team of EO-specialists and software developers has developed tailored AI models that enable efficient analysis of large datasets, providing clients with a competitive edge. In the field of Earth Observation, GeoCodis has played a key role in numerous projects that transform satellite data into applicable solutions. Whether addressing water resource monitoring, urban development, or land use management the company leverages raw geospatial data to support critical decision-making processes across various domains. GeoCodis already collaborated with major organisations such as the European Space Agency (ESA), the EU the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ) and others commercial clients.

The challenge

Droughts are becoming more frequent and severe, with widespread impacts on agriculture, water supply and ecosystem health. Yet, governments and agencies struggle to track the impact and effectiveness of drought management policies in real time. Without accurate and timely insights, decisions often remain reactive rather than proactive. In many places, persistent dry spells and soil-water deficits undermine both agriculture and water security: over the past few decades, Slovenia has experienced at least seven major agricultural droughts, many of which caused hundreds of millions of euros in damage.

The satellite solution

To address this challenge, GeoCodis, through the DriDanube consortium and in line with the Clim4Cast project, developed the DroughtWatch portal. It provides users with spatial and temporal view of several drought-related datasets and indices, including vegetation and drought indices, precipitation and temperature datasets and integrates estimated drought impacts, using satellite data and analytical tools.

The platform brings together information from several sources developed within Clim4Cast project and EUMETSAT products. Indices such as heat index, daily evapotranspiration, soil drought intensity, soil moisture deficit, thermal climate index and others shows both current conditions and long-term trends in an easy-to-use interface. Users can explore how drought is developing, compare today’s situation with historic data and quickly see where risks are growing, helping them make faster and more informed decisions. The portal is mostly used to assess droughts, heat waves and potential forest fire conditions and supports proactive planning across sectors.

The results

Using DroughtWatch, government agencies and civil protection organisations benefit from earlier detection of emerging drought hotspots, better coordination, and more strategic planning. The tool has improved situational awareness, reduced reliance on fragmented data, and enabled more efficient resource allocation. As a result, Slovenian Environmental Agency (ARSO) is using the portal mainly to monitor droughts and report on possible developing droughts in SE Europe region due to its role as host of Drought management centre for SE Europe. The portal allows visual and numerical comparison of various drought-related indices as well as generation of timeline animations. It currently profits from ARSO and other regional institutions’ involvement in recent projects such as Clim4Cast and Eumetsat’s LSA SAF. DroughtWatch is designed in the way that inclusion of new sets of data layers is relatively straight forward and expected as regional cooperation evolves and requires new information.

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WASDI is a joint venture of FadeOut Software and LIST based in Luxembourg that provides a cloud-based platform for accessing, processing, and analysing Earth observation data. Their mission is to democratise the use of satellite information by enabling users — from experts to non-specialists — to easily transform raw data into actionable insights. By integrating advanced cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and geospatial technologies, WASDI supports applications related to environmental monitoring, disaster management, land and water resource assessment, and sustainable development. Their platform offers a collaborative environment where users can process data, develop and share applications, and deliver services without needing complex infrastructure.  

Luxembourg Red Cross 

The Luxembourg Red Cross is a humanitarian organisation dedicated to protecting and supporting people affected by crises, both in Luxembourg and internationally. Through its Humanitarian Aid unit, it provides rapid emergency assistance in situations of conflict, natural disasters, and population displacement, delivering essential services such as shelter, water and sanitation, medical support, and protection. Beyond immediate relief, the organisation strengthens community resilience through long-term recovery and development programmes. 

The challenge

The growing frequency and severity of disasters demands fast and informed responses. Yet, many crisis-affected areas remain hard to access and difficult to monitor. Limited observation in remote regions and the complexity of assessing natural hazards can delay critical decisions and intervention when time matters most. Humanitarian teams in the fields — often without satellite-data expertise — need simple, effective and friendly tools that turn data into clear, actionable information. 

At the same time, recurrent emergencies, lack of budget and challenging logistics continue to strain operational capacity. These realities have pushed the International Department of the Luxembourg Red Cross to invest in innovation, research and strategic partnerships.  

The satellite solution

To address this challenge, the Luxembourg Red Cross, WASDI and LIST developed a platform through the WFP Humanitarian Innovation Accelerator (HIA) programme: RISE (Remote Imaging Support for Emergencies). This user-friendly tool was designed for non-experts and directly meets field needs focusing on flood and damage assessment, giving access to clear, usable information and supporting rapid decision-making. 

By selecting an area on the map, users receive the latest available EO data, automatically processed into clear, ready-to-use hazard maps. It also leverages satellite image archives from multiple sources, enabling robust risk evaluation and comparison over time, as well as revisiting old hazards. Thanks to EO satellites, RISE displays near-real-time intelligence on floods, droughts and other risks, enabling faster and better informed decisions. 

Fully automated and accessible worldwide, RISE is a complementary tool that allows humanitarian teams to assess events, understand impacts and support more people.  

The results

Red Cross Madagascar have conducted a validation exercise that demonstrated that using RISE led to an 84.6% reduction in response time and an 89.97% decrease in operational costs compared to standard methods. For the Luxembourg Red Cross, the platform reduced reliance on in-person data collection, enabled faster coordination, saved budget, decrease the number of people put at risk in the exercise, and proved intuitive and adaptable to real-world field conditions. RISE serves as a complement to field expertise, helping responders carry out their work more effectively.  

Key to this impact is clear communication between users and service providers and an intuitive interface that makes complex geospatial data immediately usable for operational decision-making. 

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+ATLANTIC is a Collaborative Laboratory that transforms scientific knowledge into practical solutions for ocean, coastal, climate, and environmental challenges. By combining Earth observation, data science, AI, and numerical modelling, it delivers user-oriented products that support governance, innovation, and public awareness, all with the mission to drive a sustainable transition across the Atlantic region. 

The challenge

Mediterranean cities face multiple climate risks, from heatwaves to sea level rise and storms, all amplified by coastal urbanisation, tourism pressure, ageing populations, and migration trends. These vulnerabilities affect health (heat-related mortality and pollution-linked illness), energy (changing demand and reduced hydropower during droughts), and infrastructure (damage from unpredictable floods and storms driven by growing climate variability). 

The satellite solution

Earth Observation provides essential data to anticipate and manage climate-related risks in Mediterranean cities, particularly heat extremes and sea level rise. By analysing satellite-derived information on land use, vegetation, and built-up areas, EO helps detect and quantify the Urban Heat Island effect, where heat accumulates in densely built environments. Long-term geospatial datasets feed into data-driven models that improve local weather forecasts and enable the creation of early warning and adaptation tools. These EO-based systems are strengthened by in-situ measurements and computing power, with many initiatives supported through European public funding. 

The results

The integration of EO data into local planning enhances cities’ awareness and preparedness for climate-induced extremes. Beyond heatwaves, the approach supports a broader understanding of interconnected hazards and their impacts on health, infrastructure, and energy. Through +ATLANTIC’s multi-hazard platform AtlanticSENSE, decision-makers and citizens can now benchmark local risk profiles, access transparent and traceable information, and strengthen their literacy on environmental and climate risks, fostering more resilient and informed urban communities. 

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The Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI) is Denmark’s national center for weather, climate, and sea ice monitoring, with strong expertise in polar forecasting. The Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Centre (NERSC) is a Norwegian research institute specializing in Arctic and oceanographic studies, particularly the use of remote sensing and modeling for environmental monitoring.

The challenge

Large icebergs off the coast of Greenland represent both an environmental hazard and a navigational challenge. In July–August 2024, a 4 × 2 km tabular iceberg drifted southeast of Greenland before breaking into smaller fragments, many too small to be seen from a ship’s deck. Over a six-week period, the iceberg lingered near tourist shipping routes, becoming a risk hotspot for cruise vessels operating in the area. Real-time tracking and accurate forecasting of its movement and disintegration were critical for ensuring maritime safety and operational planning.

The satellite solution

The DMI, supported by the NERSC, implemented a remote sensing-based monitoring system. The iceberg was continuously tracked using high-resolution satellite data. The OpenBerg drift model simulated iceberg trajectory by integrating:

• Ocean current data from TOPAZ5 (Copernicus Marine Service)
• Wind forcing from ERA5 (Copernicus Climate Change Service)

The integrated output of observational tracking and numerical modelling was visualised via the NARVAL portal, enabling both real-time monitoring and forecast-based risk assessments.

The results

• Enhanced Maritime Safety: real-time tracking and forecasting reduced collision risk for vessels operating near the drifting iceberg.
• Improved Iceberg Forecasting: combining Copernicus Marine and Climate data allowed more accurate drift simulations and structural evolution predictions.
• Support for Cruise and Tourism Industry: monitoring and information sharing enabled better planning and risk mitigation for cruise operations in iceberg-prone zones.
• Operational Collaboration: real-time data exchange between DMI and NERSC ensured informed decision-making and strengthened remote sensing capabilities for future events.

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THETIDA, a Horizon Europe project focused on cultural heritage and climate resilience, is developing the CIRIS tool to assess and monitor coastal flood risk in Arctic regions. Coordinated by the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), the initiative brings together international partners to safeguard vulnerable heritage sites from the growing impacts of climate change.

The challenge

The Arctic is one of the world’s most rapidly changing regions. Accelerated sea level rise and land subsidence increase the risk of coastal flooding, threatening both fragile ecosystems and historically significant sites. In places like Svalbard, these challenges are compounded by sparse observational data and limited ground-based infrastructure. Sites such as the Hiorthhamn Coal Cableway Station—a key remnant of Arctic industrial history—are especially vulnerable, yet lack tailored tools for flood risk evaluation that consider both environmental and cultural contexts.

The satellite solution

To address this gap, NTUA developed CIRIS (Coastal Inundation Risk tool), which integrates Copernicus Earth Observation data with hydrographic models. Sentinel-1 InSAR data is used to measure ground deformation, while sea level rise trends are sourced from the Copernicus Marine Service. Together, these datasets enable CIRIS to produce dynamic, high-resolution flood risk maps that account for both vertical land movement and ocean dynamics. Unlike traditional models, CIRIS offers a more localized and accurate view of flood hazards in Arctic zones, and is designed to be open-source and easily adapted to new sites.

The results

• CIRIS has been deployed at the Hiorthhamn Coal Cableway Station in Svalbard to assess future flood risks
• Delivers improved risk assessments by combining land subsidence and sea level rise
• Supports cultural heritage managers, researchers, and local authorities with actionable data for climate adaptation

Designed for scalability, CIRIS is freely available on GitHub, enabling its use in other high-risk coastal regions globally

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Polar View is an international organisation specialising in satellite-based monitoring of the polar regions and global marine environments. With extensive expertise in delivering operational services, Polar View supports users in addressing environmental and climate-related challenges through Earth observation.

The challenge

Climate change calls for a fundamental transformation of our economies and societies. The global push toward a low-carbon, circular, and nature-positive economy—known as the Green Transition—must be supported by reliable data and decision-support tools, especially in vulnerable regions such as the Arctic and North Atlantic. The challenge lies in helping public and private actors plan and operate in ways that are both economically viable and environmentally sustainable, across sectors including maritime transport, renewable energy, and aquaculture.

The satellite solution

The Cerulean Information Factory (CIF), led by Polar View and funded by ESA, co-develops user-driven services that draw on satellite data, particularly from the Copernicus Marine Service, to support decision-making in three key sectors:

• Shipping: A route optimisation tool combining ocean and ice data with IMO CII metrics to improve safety and reduce emissions.
• Offshore renewables: A toolkit using historical and seasonal ocean data to assess site suitability and operational risk for wind, wave, and tidal energy.
• Aquaculture: A service integrating Copernicus and meteorological data to support site selection and risk monitoring, including water quality indicators.

The results

CIF delivers operational geospatial services that make satellite data accessible and actionable for end users. Key outcomes include:

• Minimizing carbon emissions from ships while maintaining safe and economical operations in and around sea ice.
• Assessing the suitability of sites for offshore renewable energy installations to balance the potential for energy production with the risks associated with hazards such as structural icing and extreme weather conditions.
• Assessment of the suitability of sites for aquaculture facilities to balance the potential for bio-productivity with the risks associated with sea ice and harmful algal blooms.

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DSE-Data Science Experts is a company created in 2020 and focused on building products and solutions based on Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Based in Grenoble, France, the company today employs 11 people. The team’s vision is to help insurance companies to better support the agriculture sector in times of natural disasters.

The challenge

According to the World Meteorological Organization’s Atlas of Mortality and Economic Losses from Weather, Climate and Water Extremes, the number of disasters related to a weather, climate or water hazard has increased by a factor of five between 1970 and 2019 globally. Agrıculture is among the sectors that are affected the most by climate-related disasters.

To establish mechanisms, and in particular insurance schemes, to support the recovery of agricultural activities affected by disasters, there is a growing need for data and information to foresee and assess such damages.

The satellite solution

AIperion is a system, developed by DSE, that estimates the damage affecting agricultural fields, identifies the boundaries of flooded and burned areas, and detects the extent, impact and duration of droughts based on extreme weather events or natural disasters.

The system is based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) applied to Earth observation images to identify and detect the boundaries of flooded and burned areas. It integrates meteorological data from the MSG mission (Meteosat Second Generation satellites) to detect the intensity and duration of extreme weather events.

AIPerion relies on data from the Copernicus Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 missions to calculate vegetation indices and estimate agricultural damage.

These analyses are combined to produce an assessment of the level of damage to the crops and of its causes. The results are provided to customers through a dashboard, in the form of maps and figures.

The results

By integrating Copernicus data into their software, DSE can provide precise information on the crops’ health and determine if the damage to crop reported by farmers is a consequence of natural disasters and not of fraud attempts.

Moreover, based on the information provided by DSE, insurance companies can determine the premium to be paid for crop losses caused by natural disasters.

Under the request of one insurance company, using this system DSE was able to map 80% of cultivated fields on the French territory to detect the growth status of vegetation. That was made possible thanks to the high temporal resolution of the Copernicus data and could not have been done by using in-situ surveying techniques.

Using free and open Copernicus data, DSE can provide its services at a much lower cost than the price that they would ask if they used other paying satellite data. As a result, after only one year of existence, the company can count some of the world’s biggest insurance companies among their customers.

In 2020, the AIPeiron system has been awarded the Copernicus Masters Prize for France.

READ THE FULL STORY

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The Environmental Protection Department of the City of Prague approves and implements the Climate Change Adaptation Strategy and its Implementation Plans.

The Department designs, manages and finances adaptation projects and analyses of some selected data. For these tasks the Department is supported, among others, by the Prague Institute for Planning and Development, which manages the Prague Geoportal, making available a number of maps of Prague.

The challenge

Considering the conspicuous presence of paved spaces, built areas and industrial infrastructure, Prague is particularly vulnerable to extreme heat events.

To implement adaptive measures, the Environmental Protection Department sought to visualise heat vulnerability and the areas that are affected the most in Prague, especially nearby public transport stops, where two-thirds of the city’s population spend a considerable amount of time.

The satellite solution

To assess the effects of climate change on transport stops, the Department asked for the support of ECOTEN Urban Comfort, a local start-up specialised in urban and environmental engineering.

As a first step, the company defined the indices to be taken into account for a heat assessment.

Among such indices, thermal exposure, which indicates the distribution of heat over the city, was calculated by identifying the warmest areas of the city during the days in which temperatures exceeded 30 °C. These data were extracted from images acquired by the Landsat 8 satellite in the summers between 2015 and 2019.

Adaptive capacity, which is the ability of the urban ecosystem to be resilient to heat events, was assessed by mapping greeneries and water bodies around public transport stops. This index was calculated by summing up the Advanced Vegetation Index and the Normalised Differential Water Index, both measured through data from the European Sentinel-2A satellite.

Combing all the indices, ECOTEN was able to produce the Urban Heat Vulnerability Map of the City of Prague.

The results

The Map classifies bus and tram stops in five categories, according to their degree of vulnerability to high temperatures.

Based on the information provided by the map, the Environmental Protection Department is taking measures to make transport stops more resilient to heatwaves and hence more comfortable for residents and tourists.

For example, green lawns were placed on the roofs of the most affected stops, together with misting devices and drinkable water fountains.

“Thanks to the Copernicus satellites, we have reliable, objective and shareable data to act against climate change”. Tereza Líbová, Climate change adaptation specialist, Department of Environmental Protection, City of Prague

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The Cyprus Audit Office

The Cyprus Audit Office is an independent State Authority of the Republic of Cyprus. It is responsible for auditing the accounts of the central government, ministries, local administrations, and national public organisations. The mission of the Office is to conduct quality financial, performance and compliance audits in the wider public sector for the purpose of public reporting, thus enhancing transparency and accountability. The Office contributes to the efficient and effective management of public resources, reducing the mismanagement of public funds and corruption.

The challenge

Cypriot coastline and beaches are the habitats of many animal and vegetal species, some of which are considered as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Every year, beaches bring millions of tourists to Cyprus. Indeed, tourism represents a vital source for the country’s economy, but its substantial increase, with the creation of new touristic infrastructures, could also pose threats to the island’s biodiversity.

In 2016, to ensure effective coastal management, the Office conducted an audit to evaluate the measures implemented by the competent authorities to protect the coastline and contain the effects of the potential threats related to mass tourism and illegal activities. The audit’s goal was to understand how coastal protection measures are implemented, to identify illegal structures in the national Coastal Protected Zone, and to detect activities that do not comply with the National Beach Usage Plan. To do this, the Audit Office needed reliable data that could help them in picturing the evolution of the coastline and assess the effects of tourism and man-made activities on the island.

The satellite solution

To realise the Audit, the Office submitted questionnaires to local authorities, realised visits to collect in-situ data, and interviewed public officers and non-governmental organisations. Moreover, the Cyprus Audit Office relied on GIS technology to obtain information on land ownership and protected coastal zones. This information was needed to assess the potential effects of illegal buildings and mass tourism on coastal erosion.

Satellite imagery from multiple sources, including Sentinel-2 images, Google Earth and orthophotos from the Department of Lands and Surveys, was used to map the entire island and to draw a temporal perspective of the evolution of the coastline. The satellite images used by the Audit Office were retrieved by the digitised cadastral maps developed by the Cyprus Department of Lands and Surveys and made freely available online through a dedicated portal.

The results

Thanks to the GIS technology, the Audit Office was able to assess the evolution of coastal erosion and of illegal building sprawl during         the  last years, and to estimate the potential economic impacts on the long run.

The use of satellite data provided the Audit Office with a broad vision of the geographic area surrounding the island, allowing it to perform a broad inspection of the coastline, while drastically reducing the time and costs dedicated to the audit. Indeed, in-situ observations were only necessary to validate contrasting data and information.

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