The Kyrgyz Data Cube can be a good source of visual information for tracking climate change trends in Kyrgyzstan. This opinion was expressed by Bolot Moldobekov, co-director of the Central Asian Institute for Applied Geosciences (CAIAG).

The server hardware and software of the Open Data Cube was provided to Kyrgyzstan by a UK partner eOsphere (http://eosphere.co.uk) for free of charge.

The Kyrgyz Data Cube was developed as part of the SIBELIUs project, which is being implemented by the international organization Mercy Corps in Kyrgyzstan with financial support from the UK Space Agency. The server equipment of the Kyrgyz Data Cube was transferred to CAIAG for further maintenance and service at the end of May 2021.

* According to Bolot Moldobekov, since the 2000s, glaciers have been melting more intensively in our republic, and the cycle of low water has been disrupted with climate change. The growing season has also changed, if earlier the melting of glaciers began at the end of May and ended in mid-June, now the glaciers melt until September and the color of the water does not change. The melting of glaciers leads to a decrease in water supplies, drought and desertification. This will be especially noticeable in the arid zone of the country - this is the south of Kyrgyzstan.

In turn, the Central Asian Institute for Applied Geosciences is engaged in scientific research and actively uses satellite images to analyze the state of the environment.

“In 2018, using satellite images, we prepared an updated catalog of glaciers in Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia and handed them over to relevant government agencies. In addition, we shared with Kyrgyzhydromet and the Department of Water Resources the methodology for assessing the forecast of water availability. For example, using satellite images, you can see the accumulation of snow from September to February, and now Kyrgyzhydromet uses them and calculates the amount of snow,” explained Bolot Moldobekov.

Satellite images of the Kyrgyz Data Сube, he said, can and should be widely used by government agencies to analyze the situation throughout the country and make decisions at the highest level. Now we cannot completely move away from the old methods of presenting data, for example, numbers and tables. Although, using satellite images, you can much more clearly show the real picture with changing trends.
At the moment, there is a joint work with foreign colleagues from the SIBELIUs project to improve the Kyrgyz Data Cube so that all interested parties can easily receive and use images from Earth satellites. This data will be provided for free of charge. Bolot Moldobekov and his team are ready to train personnel for government agencies and help adapt the information obtained from satellite images.