Durban, July 7, 2016

drought Blog Posts

Flash Drought Hotspots: Southwestern United States

Stories

Authors: Ryder Kimball & Steve Levay Special thanks to: Max Borrmann, Arjan Geers, and Megan Zaroda This blog is part of a series on the effects of rapid dryness on regions around the globe. For an introduction to Planet’s approach, read this post. For those of us in the U.S., the very […]

Flash Drought Hotspots: Iberian Peninsula

Stories

Authors: Ryder Kimball & Steve Levay Special thanks to: Max Borrmann, Arjan Geers, and Megan Zaroda The Mediterranean climate, once an alluring promise of balmy weather and picturesque sunshine, has adopted more alarming associations. Scorching temperatures and raging infernos this summer have prompted authorities to plead with residents to stay indoors during […]

Drying Up in a Flash: What Satellite Data Can Tell Us about Flash Drought Risks and the Regions We Should Be Watching

Stories

Authors: Stephen Levay and Megan Zaroda Datasets generated and analyzed by Arjan Geers Visualizations by Max Borrmann  Special thanks to Richard De Jeu, Maarten Lambrechts, Ryder Kimball, and Yoann Malbeteau Worldwide, drought is arguably the largest overall antagonist farmers face. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, the impact […]

ZEP-RE and Planet Collaborate on Drought Insurance Program in Africa

News

Today, we announced an exciting new contract with ZEP-RE, a reinsurance company based in Nairobi, Kenya who will leverage our Basemaps products to enhance drought risk protection in the Horn of Africa (HOA)! ZEP-RE aims to utilize PlanetScope 3-5 meter resolution imagery through our analysis-ready, Surface Reflectance Basemaps products. Using pre-processed, Basemaps, […]

How Planet Satellites Help Manage Fire Risk in a Parched Landscape

Stories

Introduction  Although wildland fires have always been present in the western United States, recent years have brought increasing numbers of fires. These fires are now burning hotter, over wider areas, and causing more damage to human infrastructure and natural landscapes than ever before. The causes are numerous  and multifaceted, including climate change, […]