AI system underscores Karachi's critical vulnerabilities to climate change
An elevated view of the Karachi Skyline
AKDN / Rahim Kara
Media Source: Arab News (Pakistan)
Date: 11 March 2025
A new artificial intelligence (AI) system jointly developed by researchers at New York University (NYU) and Aga Khan University (AKU) in Karachi has exposed a stark disparity in urban green spaces across Pakistan’s largest city, highlighting critical vulnerabilities to climate change. The study was led by Dr Rumi Chunara…
A new artificial intelligence (AI) system jointly developed by researchers at New York University (NYU) and Aga Khan University (AKU) in Karachi has exposed a stark disparity in urban green spaces across Pakistan’s largest city, highlighting critical vulnerabilities to climate change. The study was led by Dr Rumi Chunara, director of the NYU Center for Health Data Science, and included numerous experts from NYU as well as D. Zainab Samad from AKU. The researchers used advanced AI techniques to analyze satellite imagery and assess urban greenery in Karachi. The research, published in the ACM Journal on Computing and Sustainable Societies, found that Karachi averages just 4.17 square metres of per capita green space, which is even less than one half of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) recommended nine square metres per person. “It is the fifth most populous city in the world and in recent years has faced both deadly heat waves and urban flooding,” said Dr Zainab Samad of AKU.