Unused Satellite Data Holds Back Climate Action, Say Experts

HYDERABAD: As satellites generate an unprecedented volume of images and measurements every day, the biggest bottleneck has shifted from collecting data to making sense of it. Much of this information remains underused, limiting its potential to improve disaster response, agriculture, climate monitoring and urban planning, according to experts.

“The problem is no longer collecting imagery. It is converting that imagery into useful intelligence quickly enough for someone to act on it,” said Ronak Kumar Samantray, founder and chief executive officer of city-based spacetech startup TakeMe2Space. He said satellite data is being generated faster than organisations can process it into timely, usable information.

While there is no single global estimate because satellite data comes from government, commercial, defence, weather and research missions, Samantray said raw satellite data often moves through multiple stages, including ground station transfers, storage, calibration, processing and interpretation before reaching users. Limited computing capacity, high processing costs, fragmented platforms, shortage of skilled analysts and poor integration with government and enterprise systems further slow its use.

Arunav Roy, senior vice president and market unit head, Cyient, a city-based player in aerospace and defence engineering services, said the industry’s focus should now be on converting satellite data into decision-ready intelligence rather than simply collecting or storing more imagery.

“Better utilisation depends on strong data quality, metadata, interoperability, governance and integration with geographic information systems, field information, utility assets and enterprise data. Artificial intelligence (AI), GeoAI and automation can process images faster, detect changes, identify risks and generate predictive insights at scale,” he told Deccan Chronicle.

According to Samantray, delays in processing satellite data have real world consequences. During floods, satellite imagery can identify inundated areas, damaged infrastructure and blocked roads, helping authorities decide where rescue teams and relief supplies are needed first. However, “if the information reaches response teams several hours later, much of its value is lost,” he explained.

He said satellite data can also identify crop stress, soil moisture, waterlogging, pest prone areas and vegetation health early enough for farmers to plan irrigation and for governments, banks and insurers to make better decisions.

“The same technology can also monitor reservoir levels, groundwater stress, drought conditions, urban heat islands, land use changes, deforestation, coastal erosion and air pollution. If analysed too late, however, the data becomes a record of what has already happened rather than a tool for timely decisions,” he added.

Roy said satellite and geospatial intelligence also has growing applications in telecommunications and utilities, including network planning, coverage optimisation, fibre, tower and grid asset mapping, vegetation monitoring, climate risk assessment and building more resilient operations.

Looking ahead, Samantray said advances in AI, cloud computing and in-orbit processing could significantly reduce the time between capturing satellite data and putting it to use. “Instead of transmitting every raw dataset to earth, future satellites are expected to process more information in-orbit and send only the most relevant insights,” he added and said the future will not only be about seeing the earth from space, it will be about understanding what is happening and delivering that intelligence fast enough for people to act.