National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) /ISRO, in collaboration with the Department of Geoinformatics, Kashmir University (KU), conducted a one-day national “Earth Observations for Climate Services” workshop at KU, Srinagar, on May 4, 2023. The workshop was organized under the National Information System for Climate and Environment Studies (NICES) Program of NRSC, ISRO. NICES is a multi-institutional endeavor to generate a climate quality database from satellite and ground-based observations and disseminate it through a web portal. As part of the capacity building and outreach program of NICES, distinguished scientists from ISRO and institutions of national importance joined deliberations at the KU. The workshop offered an opportunity for the students and enthusiastic citizens to understand and appreciate the initiatives and interact with the experts.

Vice-Chancellor of KU Prof Nilofer Khan was the chief guest during the inaugural function. In her address, Prof Nilofer said such collaborative endeavours are critical if institutions are to find solutions to pressing environmental problems like climate change. She thanked ISRO for installing three sensors (All-sky imager, UV sensor & micro rain radar) at the University campus and help students understand the changes occurring in the area. She said universities can no longer afford to work in isolation and require engaging people at the grassroots in the fight against the climate crisis. Dr. Prakash Chauhan, Director, NSRC, ISRO, joined the inaugural session online and highlighted the role of Earth Observations in understanding the patterns and impacts of climate change. He said the Himalayan region is facing the brunt of climate change regarding sustainability and water resources, and the region has seen a temperature rise of 1.5 ᵒC, as against 1 ᵒC previously, in the last 50 years or so.

Vice-Chancellor Central University of Kashmir (CUK), Prof Ravinder A Nath, the guest of honour, called for sensitising the citizens about the impacts of climate change and the mitigation and adaptation strategies. Prof Shakil A Romshoo, Vice-Chancellor Islamic University of Science and Technology (IUST), Kashmir, stressed the role of KU in bridging the knowledge gap by way of establishing ground-based observations. He opined that the present workshop has tremendous societal importance, especially in Jammu and Kashmir, where climate change indicators are "loud and clear" and impact almost every sector of the economy. Dr. Rajshree V Bothale, Deputy Director, NRSC, highlighted the importance of ISRO initiatives like NICES concerning database generation for climate change and the importance of conducting the workshop at Srinagar. During the inauguration session, the dignitaries unveiled a monograph of the previous NICES workshop conducted at Udagamandalam.

Sixteen expert talks were delivered on different aspects of climate change, including the impact on water resources, polar and Himalayan cryosphere, and alpine vegetation, apart from information on Bhuvan, Bhoonidhi, and NICES portals of NRSC. The participants were senior academics and officers from KU, IUST, CUK, IMD, ICAR, SAC, and IIRS, besides many students and research scholars from the University of Kashmir. The VCs and other dignitaries later inaugurated a poster exhibition.