Over the past decade, the Amazon has experienced some of the worst droughts and floods on record. These extreme weather events have had economic impacts on cities in the region, cutting off communities from basic services. But these extreme events also have regional-scale effects, influencing the weather in neighboring regions of the Amazon. Either through massive pollution caused by forest fires or devastating rains, the impact of climate change in the Amazon is felt much further than the forest.
Explaining the complexity of these interconnected systems is a challenge for researchers and communicators. Nevertheless, we will show in this workshop examples of successful visualizations that were effective in connecting audiences to the concerning fate of the Amazon. Also, we will guide the participants on how to replicate the methodologies in other parts of the world, other environments than the rainforest.
Participants will be introduced to methodologies for visualizing environmental data, such as satellite imagery and large earth observation databases. We will work with data on precipitation, wildfires, deforestation, and carbon biomass density from sources such as NASA and Planet.
As a journalist covering the region for 25 years, I have been training journalists and other communicators in the techniques of "narrating the territory" in the Amazon and in other regions of the world. Projects like InfoAmazonia, InfoNile and InfoCongo, that will be shared as examples of using geospatial data in journalism.
The main takeaway from this workshop will be the capacity to combine data and stories to communicate climate anomalies.