India launches climate change disaster alert 'data window' for island nations

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced at the COP26 climate conference on Tuesday that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) would be working to create a "data window" for small island nations that are the worst affected by climate change. The system, nicknamed IRIS (Infrastructure for Resilient Island States) was jointly launched with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

"India is already working with island countries in the Pacific and elsewhere to help them manage the threats of climate change. In that endeavour, India is launching yet another programme. Our space agency, ISRO will create a special data window for SIDS (Small Island Developing States)," Modi said.

So far 26 nations have pledged themselves to Coalition of Disaster Resilience Infrastructure (CDRI), an international partnership launched by India two years ago to safeguard important infrastructure against the increasing frequency of climate disasters. Boris Johnson lamented that it was cruel that island nations, who's epart in man-made climate change was negligible, had to face the brunt of it. Britain has pledged 10 million pounds to the initiative.

IRIS will generate and disseminate satellite data to these nations which will help them anticipate and mitigate damage from climate change-induced weather patterns like extreme storms. Monitoring the health of coral reefs and coastlines is also a part of the agenda. It the first major programme under the CRDI.