SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 & UN-SDGs: Earth Observations for assessing and predicting the impacts of SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs).

Session ID#: 118125

Session Description:
SARS-CoV2/COVID-19 propagated rapidly from local to global scales with multi-trillion $ impact and over 123M cases, 2.72M deaths (March 2021). The pandemic has prevailed over the annual seasonal cycles of both hemispheres. Key questions remain regarding environmental determinants and co-factors associated with its infectiousness, aerosol transmission/propagation rates, and mortality. Infection rates/severity and impact appear to vary substantially between countries across regions. Ongoing robust vaccination efforts to build herd immunity will take time, especially when considering virus variants. This session invites papers that demonstrate integration of data from Earth Observing satellites, in-situ and ground- based networks, and social/demographic and policy information to assess and predict COVID-19’s impact on implementing SDG 2 (food production/security), SDG 3 (health/well-being), SDG 6 (Fresh water/sanitation), SDG 7 (energy access/resilience), SDG 11 (sustainable cities/communities), SDG 13 (climate change), and SDG 15 (life on land).
Index Terms:

0240 Public health [GEOHEALTH]
1640 Remote sensing [GLOBAL CHANGE]
3309 Climatology [ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSES]
4329 Sustainable development [NATURAL HAZARDS]


Primary Convener:  Sushel Unninayar, NASA/GSFC & Morgan State University, GESTAR/MSU, Greenbelt, MD, United States
Conveners:  Argyro Kavvada, NASA Headquarters, Booz Allen Hamilton, Washington, DC, United States and Danielle Wood, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Media Arts and Sciences; Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Cambridge, MA, United States
Primary Liaison:  Sushel Unninayar, NASA/GSFC & Morgan State University, GESTAR/MSU, Greenbelt, MD, United States