A newsletter on Responsible AI and Emerging Tech for Humanitarians 

AI is rapidly becoming essential infrastructure in the humanitarian sector - for early warning, anticipatory action, and operational decision-making. But there is a contradiction at the heart of this moment: the same technology humanitarian actors are turning to as a tool for climate preparedness, is itself generating significant environmental costs.  

The data centres that are powering AI, consume enormous quantities of energy to operate and water to cool hot servers [1]. Globally, the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that the data centre sector consumes over 560 billion litres of water annually - Projections indicate this figure could rise dramatically, reaching as high as 1,200 billion litres annually by 2030 [2] – this is the equivalent of ~22 million people annual water use – or the total population of Sri Lanka today (at 150L per person per day [3]). In the U.S. around two-thirds of data centres built since 2022 have been located in water-stressed regions [4].  

A single ChatGPT query consumes roughly ten times the electricity of a google search [5] and about 60% of the energy powering data centres still come from fossil fuels [6]. The International Energy Agency projects that by 2030, global data centre electricity demand will reach 945 terawatt-hours - roughly equivalent to Japan's total annual electricity consumption [7]. 

For the humanitarian sector, this tension cannot be ignored. It raises urgent questions about how AI is developed, where it is deployed, and at whose expense.  

On the other side of this equation, AI is demonstrating real and growing utility in climate risk reduction. Machine learning models are improving the accuracy of flood, drought, and cyclone forecasts. AI-driven anticipatory action systems are enabling communities to act days or even months before a climate shock strikes [8]. These are not hypothetical benefits — they are operational realities for organisations including WFP, IFRC, and national disaster risk authorities across South Asia, Africa, and beyond.  

This February edition explores both sides of this duality. We examine the environmental costs of AI infrastructure and what they mean for climate-vulnerable communities. And we look at how AI tools are reshaping humanitarian preparedness and response – and what conditions are needed to ensure these tools genuinely serve the people who need them most. 

Spotlight I Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Weeks (2026)  

When: 02–06 March 2026: Online sessions / 10–12 March 2026: hybrid sessions at the CICG in Geneva 

The Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Week (HNPW) 2026 is the world’s largest annual gathering of humanitarian networks, UN agencies, NGOs, academic institutions, and private-sector partners, hosted in Geneva. Technology enabled ‘Anticipatory action’ will be one of the nine areas of common concern at the Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Week (HNPW) 2026. More info

UKHIH and Elrha will be participating in eleven HNPW sessions, find out more here. 

Join UKHIH, Elrha and NetHope for our hybrid session on AI - From Insight to Action: Applying AI Research in Humanitarian Practice: By early 2026, the UK Humanitarian Innovation Hub (UKHIH) and NetHope, supported by the Technical University of Munich, will complete a major scoping study on how a sector-wide AI Lighthouse could advance responsible innovation and ethical AI adoption in humanitarian settings. This session will go beyond sharing research findings to focus on turning them into practical actions for organisations, networks, and coordination bodies. Register here

Another important session will be hosted by CLEAR Global and UKHIH -Advancing Responsible Tech Development in Humanitarian Contexts: How Communities Gain Agency. The session will discuss that while digitalization is often framed as inherently supportive of accountability to affected populations and enables participation, evidence shows that digital technologies can also reproduce or intensify existing power asymmetries between aid providers and crisis-affected communities. The panel will talk about how to make participatory technology development a reality in humanitarian settings. Register here

Who’s Doing What 

Other examples of AI tools being used across the humanitarian sector. 

Google Flood Hub – AI-powered flood forecasting at scale
Google’s Flood Hub uses machine learning to provide flood forecasts up to seven days in advance across 80+ countries. In a notable humanitarian application, a trial in Bangladesh is combining AI flood predictions with anticipatory cash transfers from GiveDirectly, aiming to reach over 100,000 families in northern Bangladesh with payments before floodwaters arrive. This represents a significant step towards integrating AI into anticipatory humanitarian action. However, questions remain about model accuracy in data scarce environments and the governance of the data flowing through such systems. Contact: google

World Food Programme’s PRISM – Climate risk monitoring for food security
The World Food Programme’s opensource PRISM platform is an integrated geospatial climate risk monitoring system that combines hazard data, including drought indicators, flood tracking, and storm monitoring, with socioeconomic vulnerability information on an interactive dashboard. Country offices and government partners use PRISM to identify areas at risk and inform early action, particularly around food insecurity. However, the platform raises important considerations around local data ownership and the sustainability of technology investment in resource-constrained settings. Contact: amit.wadhwa@wfp.org

The European Union’ EarthNet Initiative - Forecasting Earth’s Future with AI
EarthNet Initiative is an interdisciplinary research initiative using machine learning and high-resolution Earth observation data to forecast land surface dynamics such as crop yields, drought impacts and ecosystem health to support climate risk monitoring and early warning applications. Contact: earthnet@bgc-jena.mpg.de

MyAnga App - An app preparing Kenyan herders for extreme weather
Backed by WMO and UN agencies, the MyAnga app delivers AI-synthesised drought forecasts directly to Kenyan pastoralists' mobile phones, helping them to brace for drought. With data from global meteorological stations and satellites sent to their mobile phones, herders can plan ahead, better manage their livestock and save hours of scouting for green pastures. 

Editor’s picks 

Curated reads and resources our team found especially insightful this month

AI Wants Our Water, Heinrich Böll Stiftung (2025). An important piece on the often-overlooked water footprint of AI infrastructure, exploring how data centre cooling is straining water supplies in regions already facing scarcity - including communities in Mexico, Chile, Spain, and parts of India. For humanitarians, this is not an abstract environmental concern: water access is a driver of displacement and conflict in many of the most fragile contexts where AI-based tools are being piloted. 

From Palestine to Syria: How AI shapes environmental and social inequities in MENA, Anisa Abeytia, Middle East Observer (2025). While AI is promoted as a tool for climate and energy solutions in the Middle East and North Africa, communities across the region face significant environmental costs — including energy, water use, emissions and resource extraction — that are rarely borne where the technology is developed, leading to hidden environmental strain and social inequity that demand more context-aware, community-led approaches 

AI and the Climate Crisis, UNDP (2025). A comprehensive UNDP report examining both sides of AI's relationship with climate: its environmental footprint (energy, water, critical minerals) and its role in climate risk monitoring, forecasting, and adaptation. The report is notable for its attention to equity - flagginghow the environmental burden of AI infrastructure falls disproportionately on communities in the Global South, many of them already facing acute climate vulnerability. 

AI for Early Warning Systems and Anticipatory Action, Columbia University NCDP (2025). Drawing on an expert panel including WFP and Google Research, this piece explores how AI is transforming humanitarian forecasting and anticipatory action. It identifies the critical gaps that still need to be addressed: data scarcity in low-income countries, the need for locally-relevant model inputs, and the challenge of translating forecasts into community-level action. A useful, grounded read for practitioners. 

AI has an environmental problem. Here’s what the world can do about that, UNEP, (2025). According to the United Nations Environment Programme, while AI’s rapid growth brings environmental risks, governments and companies can curb these impacts by measuring and disclosing AI’s footprint, improving algorithm and data-centre efficiency, greening infrastructure with renewables, and embedding environmental standards into AI policy and regulation. 

Voices from the sector on emerging tech deployment in humanitarian response.

In this episode of Voices, a flashpod series from Humanitarian AI Today –produced by Brent Phillips - Golestan (Sally) Radwan (Chief Digital Officer, UN Environment Program) and Panagiotis Moutis (Assistant Professor, City College of New York; Climate Change AI) unpack a thorny tension: the very AI tools we are building to tackle the climate crisis are themselves consuming significant energy, water, and resources. 

Key takeaways: AI is not a magic fix – its environmental benefits must be weighed against its ecological costs and the resources it diverts from other needs. The conversation explores on-device machine learning as a way to shrink AI's footprint by moving processing off power-hungry data centers to local hardware, and flags the messy state of environmental data standards as a barrier to effective climate forecasting. Moutis offers a stark closing thought – that AI's greatest value may be in crafting clear narratives that convey the urgency of the crisis to the public and policymakers. Radwan also introduces EnvironmentGPT, a new tool aimed at making environmental science more accessible. 

Worth a listen for anyone thinking about where AI and sustainability genuinely intersect – and where they collide. 

Run time:  ~30 mins 

Skill Up  

Short, practical learning picks for practitioners - no tech background needed.  

AI and Climate Change - Coursera (free, online)
A free course requiring no pre-requisites that reviews climate change with practical case studies on wind power forecasting and biodiversity monitoring using AI. It demonstrates AI techniques for both climate mitigation and adaptation – relevant for humanitarian practitioners seeking to understand how AI tools for climate response actually work.   

Gen AI For Sustainability – Coursera (free, online)
A course designed for social impact leaders and AI practitioners that critically evaluates AI’s ecological footprint, ethical risks and potential to reduce inequality. Examines real-world applications alongside the environmental costs of AI deployment – a useful complement to this month’s theme.  

Stay ahead of funding calls and events.

Climate impact in a changing world 2026
When: 9-11 March Uppsala, Sweden (registration end date 01 March)
An international conference hosted by the Swedish Centre for Impact of Climate Extremes (CLIMES), bringing together researchers and practitioners to explore climate impacts with several session touching on the role of data and AI.
More info

AI in Humanitarian Response - AI for Good When: 1 May, 2026, 16:00 - 16:20 (20 mins - recorded session)
A practical AI for Good session showcasing how AI is being applied in humanitarian response, including crisis prediction, field operations, communications, and coordination. Features case studies and expert insights relevant to organisations exploring responsible, operational AI use in emergencies.
More info

ICT4D Conference 2026
When: 20 - 22 May, 2026, Nairobi
A leading global conference bringing together technologists, policymakers, researchers, and humanitarian practitioners to explore how digital innovation — including AI, data, and connectivity — can support inclusive development and crisis response. Offers humanitarian organisations a space to share AI-enabled use cases, learn from peers, and connect with tech partners working on resilience, service delivery, and emergency response.
More info

AI for Good Global Summit 2026 (ITU)
When: 7-10 July, 2026, Geneva & online
The UN-backed flagship summit on AI for global challenges, featuring humanitarian-focused sessions on AI in
emergencies, health, climate risk, food security, and ethical governance. A key convening space for NGOs to engage with UN agencies, governments, and industry on responsible AI pathways and real-world deployments.
More info

Climate Change Summit 2026
When: 30-31 July 2026, Paris France
An international summit exploring innovations, policies and solutions for sustainable futures with a focus on climate action. Includes this track on AI: Digital technologies are transforming how climate data is collected, analysed, and applied. This track explores climate data science, artificial intelligence, and
machine learning tools used for modeling, forecasting, and decision support. Applications include emissions tracking,
climate risk assessment, and optimization of mitigation and adaptation strategies. 
More info

2026 GCSP Prize for Transformative Futures in Peace and Security
Deadline: March 20, 2026
The 2026 GCSP Prize for Transformative Futures in Peace and Security invites bold ideas addressing global peace and security challenges including those at the intersection of emerging technologies, conflict, and civilian protection making it relevant for humanitarian actors working on AI governance or tech-enabled risk. Award: CHF 15,000 value (in-kind incubation program). 
More info

The $3 Million Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize  Deadline: until April 30, 2026
Every year, the Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize honours a non-profit leading efforts to alleviate human suffering. At $3 million, the Prize is the world’s largest annual humanitarian award presented to nonprofit organizations. 
More info

The Fund for Innovation in Development (FID)
Deadline: rolling
The FID’s ambition is to contribute, in the long term, to the transformation of public policies by supporting the scaling up of proven innovations in the fight against poverty and
inequality. A previous project has been: A sustainable housing solution for climate-displaced communities in Ethiopia. The call for proposals is open all year round to all types of teams for solutions targeting low- and middle-income
countries. Amount: EUR €50,000 to EUR €4,000,000 depending on stage. 
More info

WFP Innovation Accelerator
Deadline: rolling (cohorts announced periodically)
The World Food Programme’s innovation arm supports early-stage and scaling solutions that strengthen humanitarian operations including AI-driven forecasting, logistics optimisation, and digital cash assistance. Offers grants, technical support, and access to WFP’s global operational network. 
More info

DRK Foundation – Early-Stage Social Impact Funding
Deadline: rolling
Provides up to $300,000 in unrestricted grants to early stage organisations addressing an urgent or critical social or environmental problem in an innovative fashion and in a way that directly benefits underserved populations.
More info

Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity
Deadline: rolling
The US $1,000,000 Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity is a global humanitarian award. Its mission is to recognise and support those who risk their own lives to save the lives of others suffering due to violent conflict or atrocity crimes.
 More info

Disclaimer: The views expressed in the articles featured in this newsletter are solely those of the individual authors and do not reflect the official stance of the editorial team, any affiliated organisations or donors.