A Geography expert at Bayero University Kano (BUK), Dr Suleiman Yunus, has called on journalists to adopt Earth Observation (EO) technology to move from reactive disaster coverage to proactive early warning reporting capable of saving lives and reducing property losses.
Yunus made the call on Monday while delivering a paper at a training on Earth Observation Satellite Tools organized by BUK in collaboration with the European Space Agency and Future Earth.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Earth Observation is a satellite-based technology that provides real-time data to support climate change monitoring and disaster risk management.
Using a network of high-resolution satellites, the technology tracks atmospheric changes, ocean temperatures, soil moisture and other environmental indicators, enabling users to predict floods, droughts, wildfires and other natural disasters before they occur.
Describing Earth Observation as one of the world’s most transformative technologies, Yunus said its rapid advancement had reshaped several sectors, including journalism.
He stressed that journalists play a vital role in communicating disaster risks and issuing timely early warnings to vulnerable communities before disasters strike.
“Earth Observation technology has brought significant transformation across different disciplines, including journalism. It gives journalists the opportunity to communicate disaster risks and early warning information to the public,” he said.
Yunus lamented that disaster reporting in Nigeria remains largely reactive, with journalists often reporting only after lives have been lost and property destroyed.
He noted that the availability of satellite-generated data now gives journalists the tools to anticipate potential disasters and alert the public in advance.
“The current pattern of disaster reporting is mostly reactive, where journalists visit disaster scenes to report the magnitude of destruction.
“We must now embrace a proactive approach by using Earth Observation technology to understand the likelihood of disasters before they occur and communicate the risks to the people,” he said.
According to him, timely dissemination of early warning information would enable communities, emergency responders and government agencies to take preventive actions, significantly reducing the impact of disasters.
He added that integrating Earth Observation into journalism would strengthen disaster risk communication, improve public awareness and help build more resilient communities.
The training brought together academics, journalists and other stakeholders to explore how Earth Observation technologies can support disaster risk reduction, environmental monitoring and sustainable development.
SOURCE: NAN
