Startup has a powerful weapon, ‘technology’　　

January, Extraordinary cold wave

Winter was weird. It was too hard or too cold, as if the thermometer was turned upside down. Taiwan is a warm destination, with temperatures hovering around 15°C(59℉) in the middle of winter, but a cold wave hit the country, killing nearly 150 people in two days. In Afghanistan, cold temperatures of minus 30°C(86℉) claimed the lives of 157 people and 70,000 animals. Conversely, there are countries that have had to deal with ‘winter heat waves’. In Europe, the winter was the warmest on record, forcing many ski areas to close. Global warming has caused the world’s weather to lose its pattern, and we need to reduce the carbon emissions that cause it. South Korea’s carbon tech startup ‘LowCarbon’ has developed a device that absorbs and recycles carbon dioxide from the air. The amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by one machine is equivalent to that of 100 30-year-old pine trees. If they continue to capture more than 100 times the amount of carbon dioxide as the trees planted around the world, we may not have to suffer through ‘freak winter’ anymore.

May, Super Typhoon Mawar

‘Mawar’ hit Guam, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Japan, causing widespread damage. Super typhoons are becoming increasingly stronger due to the effects of drought, sea level rise, and resource depletion. However, an Israeli startup called ‘Emnotion’ is developing global climate modeling solutions that can predict potential problems before they occur. Their climate prediction technology, which is based on artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing (NLP), is more than 80% accurate. Also, They use technology to provide up to three months of advance warning for major weather disasters like typhoons. Not only can we protect our lives, but we can also safeguard our property.

June, Canada Wildfire

Canada was burned. In June of this year, wildfires in Canada caused smoke to spread into New York City, while in August, Maui, Hawaii experienced its worst wildfire in a century. Several startups are working on innovative solutions to prevent wildfires and reduce their impact. South Korea’s  company ‘Code of Nature’ has developed a technology that uses artificially cultured moss spores to help plants grow faster and restore forests lost to fire. China’s ‘Autoflight’ has created an autonomous drone that can fight fires at high altitudes where firefighters cannot reach. Hong Kong’s ‘Robotics Cats’ is using AI SaaS to detect wildfires early and respond to the crisis. Predicting wildfires early, putting them out quickly, and reforesting are all important. The startups that make this possible will save us from burning to the ground.

July, Super El Niño

Did you know that the water in Florida is as warm as the water in your bathtub? This is because of a “Super El Niño” event that caused the southern waters of the Gulf of Mexico to reach temperatures of almost 38℃(100.4℉). This event was predicted by many meteorologists since the beginning of the year, when sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean rose by at least 2°C(35.6℉) above normal. Unfortunately, when the ocean heats up, coral reefs become uninhabitable and disappear. However, a Hong Kong startup called ‘ArchiREEF’ has come up with a solution. They use 3D printed terracotta tiles to create artificial reefs and plan to replace 4,000 corals scattered across the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans by 2025. This will help restore coral lost to climate change. Corals are capable of absorbing more carbon dioxide than tropical rainforests, which are often referred to as Earth’s lungs. This is because the vast numbers of phytoplankton that live in corals absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen, which helps regulate the Earth’s temperature. Therefore, creating more artificial coral reefs could potentially help cool the oceans that have been heated by Super El Niño.

August, Panama canal drought

The waterway that connects the Pacific and Atlantic oceans has been cut off. Due to extreme drought, causing the canal’s water levels to drop as rainfall became scarce. This has resulted in ships traveling to and from around the world being gridlocked, and transportation costs skyrocketing. The United Nations predicts that by 2050, the dams’ dwindling storage capacity will be equivalent to the total water used in a year by China, Indonesia, France, and Canada today. Therefore, the need to manage the risk of water scarcity has grown significantly. To address this issue, India’s ‘VASSAR Labs’ has developed ‘aquaWISE’, a platform for water security. It uses high-resolution global satellite data and AI to provide real-time observations of water availability from rainfall, reservoirs, canals, groundwater, etc. Additionally, it uses smart sensors installed at key locations to determine real-time river flows or precipitation in a watershed. With smart water management, the health of the Panama Canal will be checked and water will be provided to ensure there are no logistical disruptions again.

September, Libya floods

A tropical cyclone named ‘Daniel’ formed in the Mediterranean Sea and hit a coastal town in northern Libya. The town suffered severe flooding, with roads submerged, buildings collapsing, and mud covering the area. The disaster resulted in a death toll of up to 20,000, with over 10,000 people still missing. However, such natural calamities can be predicted in the future. ‘Graffiquo’, a Singapore-based company, uses drones equipped with high-resolution cameras to capture footage of typhoon-prone areas in Southeast Asia. The footage is then sent to a digital twin system. It analyzes land area, transportation infrastructure, bridge locations, housing and population density, and more in 3D to predict where flooding will occur. Additionally, it can assess the extent of damage caused by floods, such as the number of victims or the amount of land lost, as seen in the Libyan floods. This information can be used to rebuild the affected areas immediately.

October, bedbug attack

What would you do if you were asleep and a flat, oval-shaped, reddish-brown bug, roughly 4-7 millimeters long, bit you more than 90 times? Last October, these pests began to appear around the world in earnest. From the subways and movie theaters of Paris, France, to Asia, there were testimonies of people who encountered bed bugs in their beds. Bed bugs have been around since the 1950s, but there’s a reason they’ve become so prevalent now. As temperatures rise due to climate change, bed bugs can reproduce more and have become more resistant to insecticides. The only way to combat these pests is with powerful technology. South Korea’s ‘GREENON’ uses a proprietary technology, ultrasonic vaporization, to eradicate pests. It vaporizes insecticides into ultra-fine particles at room temperature, which can float and penetrate ceilings, cabinets, and interior walls to completely eliminate pests. This technology allows you to control bed bugs, cockroaches, ticks, and more that were previously difficult to eradicate. This is how you can end an unwanted bedbug attack.