Visualising Tree Cutting, Air Pollution and Mudflows in Kyrgyzstan: Bellingcat’s First Hackathon Where Everyone Was A Winner

Bellingcat’s Tech team hosted an in-person student hackathon in Naryn, Kyrgyzstan, focused on visualizing environmental issues using open source research, geolocation, mapping, and data visualization tools. Five teams produced projects on tree cutting along a local road (using NDVI, CCTV, and social media), increased mudflows in Kyrgyzstan (with Planet imagery), NO2 air pollution concentration trends (via Google Earth Engine), PM2.5 district-level air quality patterns (using World Air Quality Index data), and historical radiation levels around Kazakhstan’s Semipalatinsk Test Site (using declassified data). The event emphasized learning, collaboration, and public-interest environmental insights rather than competition.