Researchers with the University of Alaska Anchorage are getting more than $1.3 million to build out wildfire modelling tools for Alaska and monitor air quality, as wildland fires become more common and severe statewide.
Micah Hahn is an epidemiologist who studies the health impacts of climate change in Alaska. She said there are a lot of digital tools, nationwide, that show how climate projections are overlaid with health impacts, like asthma.
But she said in Alaska, there’s not as much data available. She said some maps that chart wildfire risk and impacts leave Alaska off entirely.
“There’s just a big data gap. And we’re trying to close that, a little bit,” Hahn said.
She said a big part of her project is to develop online tools, like flood and fire risk maps, alongside the Alaskans who will be using them so they have the information they need to access federal funding.