Tens of millions of people face malnutrition the world over.
Tens of millions of people face malnutrition the world over. Fortunately, there are systems in place to help anticipate famines and coordinate life-saving aid. Among them are the Famine Early Warning Systems Network, or FEWS NET, a cutting-edge drought early warning system, created some 30 years ago and run by scientists at UC Santa Barbara and several partner institutions.
FEWS NET identifies the location, severity and causes of food insecurity and issues alerts to humanitarian NGOs and government agencies. It achieves this by taking advantage of satellite observations, in-situ measurements, Earth systems models and field scientists’ observations. FEWS NET covers Africa, central America and parts of central Asia and the Caribbean.
UC Santa Barbara researchers and the FEWS NET team have now published a paper in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society detailing how the system works, how it has evolved and the progress that’s been made since, particularly since the tragic Somali famine in 2011.
Read more at University of California - Santa Barbara
