LHASA model in UNFCCC COP30 WIPO Green and NASA EO feature

This fall, two GESTAR II researchers have shared exciting news about the LHASA model’s inclusion in a U.N. publication and how landslides are studied from space in a NASA Earth Observatory feature. 

(Acronyms: UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change), COP (Conference of the Parties), WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organisation), and LHASA (Landslide Hazard Assessment for Situational Awareness model.)

This past Monday, November 10, 2025, the UNFCCC COP30 began in Brazil, and the 4th edition of the WIPO Flagship publication Green Technology Book became available. NASA’s LHASA model was among the 200 selected technologies included in the 2025 edition, whose theme is “Solutions for Confronting Climate Disasters.” This online publication is free and available to the public. Congratulations to everyone involved in creating, maintaining, and updating the LHASA model. First developed in 2018, LHASA version 2 became available in 2023, and the development team won the NASA Software of the Year award. Members included Dalia Kirschbaum, Thomas Stanley, Robert Emberson, Pukar Amatya, Garrett Benz, Marin Clark, and William Medwedeff.

Additionally, Thomas Stanley, Robert Emberson, Pukar Amatya (all 617/UMBC), and Dalia Kirschbaum, Director/ESD (610/GSFC) have published several articles on the development of, application of, and discoveries from the LHASA model. From global data, the model can provide “an indication of where and when landslides may be likely around the world every 30 minutes.” Learn more about LHASA and other projects at the Landslides @ NASA website.  

In September 2025, Arif Albayrak (617/UMBC) co-authored a NASA Earth Observatory feature, where the topic is averting landslide disasters along with using the LHASA model. As part of the “Connecting Space to Village” expedition, researchers Micky Maganini (ESSC/UAH), Bhuwan Awasthi (AIT), and Arif Albayrak wrote an essay on their travels in Nepal, “Assessing Landslide Hazards from Space.” When a landslide occurs, large or small, the potential outcomes could affect infrastructure, could lead to cascading hazards, could damage farms and buildings, could result in loss of life. Utilizing a system like LHASA, along with other early action systems, can inform stakeholders worldwide: “LHASA combines satellite-derived precipitation and soil moisture with information on slope, geology, and earthquake risk to map high-risk areas so communities can take precautions.”

Their essay presents different areas affected by landslides, from a town in Switzerland devastated by a landslide to an area in Nepal where a landslide blocked the highway and the authors had to take a “treacherous side road.” In both cases, nobody was physically hurt; however, while Blatten, Switzerland had been evacuated in time, it was “buried in an instant” and the residents’ 800-years-old village was gone.