Monitoring the COVID-19 Crisis from Space

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Industries worldwide have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The true state of the decline, and its impact on rural communities across Canada, and in particular in BC, has been very difficult to assess due to the lack of reliable, spatially explicit, and timely information about the severity and industrial impact of the pandemic. One key source of data which can used to provide highly responsive, near real time information on the spread of the impact of the pandemic and its impact on industry is night light imagery acquired from satellite. This project, in collaboration with the BC Council of Forest Industries, is designed to help address this data and analysis need, by developing spatially explicit datasets linking the reduction (and in some cases increase) in nighttime lights to forest industrial activity, and the subsequent impact on rural forestry dependent communities. This will then provide COFI with nightlight derived indicators of economic activity to help both understand the impact as well as prepare for recovery once key restrictions have been lifted.