Workshop on AI and Climate Change during Science Week

An enlightening workshop on "AI and Climate Change" was conducted at The Indian School on August 10, 2023, as a part of the annual Science Week celebrations. The workshop aimed to create awareness among students about the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and climate change, emphasising the role of technology in addressing environmental challenges. The speaker, Dr Raghava Mutharaju, Assistant Professor in the Computer Science and Engineering Department at IIIT-Delhi, held an interactive session with the students of class IX.

The Air Quality Index and its effects on local climate were discussed at the beginning of the workshop. In order to comprehend the pattern of climate change, Dr Mutharaju described how his team use AI to transform heterogeneous unstructured data into structured integrated data, utilising multiple AI tools like Knowledge graphs, RDF, and OWL. Additionally, he covered the connections between climate change, air pollution, and long-term changes in temperature and weather patterns brought on by things like burning fossil fuels, which cause greenhouse gases to build up in the atmosphere and eventually cause climate change.

Dr Raghavas team is also working on a project called "Social AQI" to determine the degree of institutional readiness, AQI literacy, and awareness at the hyperlocal level that can support the CPCB's (Central Pollution Control Board) centralised control of AQI. His team has chosen Okhla and Najafgarh as their study locations, and they assess the AQI of each using information gathered from the CPCB, local sensors, and survey data from these two locations. They were able to measure the level of pollutants in the air there.

The "AI and Climate Change" workshop was a resounding success, achieving its objectives of educating and inspiring students. By fostering an understanding of AI's role in addressing climate change, the workshop contributed to building a generation of informed and engaged individuals ready to tackle the challenges of the future.