Estimates of power supply during the 2023 Gaza humanitarian crisis using night-time light images
Since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict in October 2023, a severe humanitarian crisis has occurred across the entire Gaza Strip. Owing to the challenges of conducting traditional ground-based surveys in the region, satellite images have become critically important as an objective source of informati...
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Taylor & Francis Group
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Geo-spatial Information Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/10095020.2024.2439387 |
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| author | Hanrui Cao Xi Li Samir Belabbes Luca Dell’oro Changyong Dou |
| author_facet | Hanrui Cao Xi Li Samir Belabbes Luca Dell’oro Changyong Dou |
| author_sort | Hanrui Cao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict in October 2023, a severe humanitarian crisis has occurred across the entire Gaza Strip. Owing to the challenges of conducting traditional ground-based surveys in the region, satellite images have become critically important as an objective source of information. In response to the demands of humanitarian relief, this study utilized VIIRS, SDGSAT-1, and Yangwang-1 nighttime light (NTL) satellite images to provide a multi-scale assessment of the spatiotemporal dynamics of power supply in the Gaza Strip during the conflict. To reduce errors in quantitatively estimating power supply based on nighttime light, the quality of daily VIIRS NTL images was enhanced and radiometric intercalibrations were conducted between SDGSAT-1 and Yangwang-1 NTL images. The result indicates a severe disruption of power supply in the Gaza Strip as a consequence of the conflict. Specifically, the overall power supply had a sharp decline shortly after the outbreak of the conflict on 7 October 2023 and persisted in a downtrend during the conflict, culminating in a reduction of around 94% as of 1 March 2024. In contrast, the power supply in areas surrounding the Gaza Strip remained relatively stable during the conflict. On 2 December 2023, 24 municipalities were found to have significant reductions in power supply exceeding 90%, and around 95% of buildings had power losses of more than 75%. Furthermore, approximately 70% of hospitals and UNRWA schools in the Gaza Strip were identified to have power outages on 1 January 2024. Among the five governorates of the Gaza Strip, Rafah was the most resilient in terms of power supply during the conflict. This study could make a positive contribution to the timely assessments of the Gaza conflict and support the implementation of humanitarian relief efforts. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-47c8ce40b4834bc281a5e3a11970f064 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1009-5020 1993-5153 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geo-spatial Information Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-47c8ce40b4834bc281a5e3a11970f0642025-08-20T02:30:05ZengTaylor & Francis GroupGeo-spatial Information Science1009-50201993-51532025-03-0111910.1080/10095020.2024.2439387Estimates of power supply during the 2023 Gaza humanitarian crisis using night-time light imagesHanrui Cao0Xi Li1Samir Belabbes2Luca Dell’oro3Changyong Dou4State Key Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing, Wuhan University, Wuhan, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing, Wuhan University, Wuhan, ChinaUnited Nations Satellite Centre, United Nations Institute for Training and Research, Geneva, SwitzerlandUnited Nations Satellite Centre, United Nations Institute for Training and Research, Geneva, SwitzerlandInternational Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals, Beijing, ChinaSince the outbreak of the Gaza conflict in October 2023, a severe humanitarian crisis has occurred across the entire Gaza Strip. Owing to the challenges of conducting traditional ground-based surveys in the region, satellite images have become critically important as an objective source of information. In response to the demands of humanitarian relief, this study utilized VIIRS, SDGSAT-1, and Yangwang-1 nighttime light (NTL) satellite images to provide a multi-scale assessment of the spatiotemporal dynamics of power supply in the Gaza Strip during the conflict. To reduce errors in quantitatively estimating power supply based on nighttime light, the quality of daily VIIRS NTL images was enhanced and radiometric intercalibrations were conducted between SDGSAT-1 and Yangwang-1 NTL images. The result indicates a severe disruption of power supply in the Gaza Strip as a consequence of the conflict. Specifically, the overall power supply had a sharp decline shortly after the outbreak of the conflict on 7 October 2023 and persisted in a downtrend during the conflict, culminating in a reduction of around 94% as of 1 March 2024. In contrast, the power supply in areas surrounding the Gaza Strip remained relatively stable during the conflict. On 2 December 2023, 24 municipalities were found to have significant reductions in power supply exceeding 90%, and around 95% of buildings had power losses of more than 75%. Furthermore, approximately 70% of hospitals and UNRWA schools in the Gaza Strip were identified to have power outages on 1 January 2024. Among the five governorates of the Gaza Strip, Rafah was the most resilient in terms of power supply during the conflict. This study could make a positive contribution to the timely assessments of the Gaza conflict and support the implementation of humanitarian relief efforts.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/10095020.2024.2439387Gaza crisisnighttime light imagepower supplyspatiotemporal dynamichumanitarian relief |
| spellingShingle | Hanrui Cao Xi Li Samir Belabbes Luca Dell’oro Changyong Dou Estimates of power supply during the 2023 Gaza humanitarian crisis using night-time light images Geo-spatial Information Science Gaza crisis nighttime light image power supply spatiotemporal dynamic humanitarian relief |
| title | Estimates of power supply during the 2023 Gaza humanitarian crisis using night-time light images |
| title_full | Estimates of power supply during the 2023 Gaza humanitarian crisis using night-time light images |
| title_fullStr | Estimates of power supply during the 2023 Gaza humanitarian crisis using night-time light images |
| title_full_unstemmed | Estimates of power supply during the 2023 Gaza humanitarian crisis using night-time light images |
| title_short | Estimates of power supply during the 2023 Gaza humanitarian crisis using night-time light images |
| title_sort | estimates of power supply during the 2023 gaza humanitarian crisis using night time light images |
| topic | Gaza crisis nighttime light image power supply spatiotemporal dynamic humanitarian relief |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/10095020.2024.2439387 |
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