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The data that revealed this came from Sentinel-1, a European satellite that uses radar to map the Earth’s surface in fine detail. It scans the ground at around 2,000 pulses per second. Fortunately, the satellite passed over this part of Nepal at an ideal angle, allowing researchers to gather high-quality measurements.

The most recent images, from January 2025, show that no landslide has yet occurred. However, the analysis has enabled scientists to warn villagers, develop ground-level monitoring strategies, and plan evacuation routes.

The AI map also highlights safer areas. For example, the local high school appears to be located on one of the most stable parts of the terrain—valuable information that has been shared with local authorities.

Similar work is being carried out elsewhere. In the UK, researchers are using AI to analyze radar data from Sentinel-1 across 300,000 slopes in Great Britain. They identified around 3,000 slopes that are actively moving.

These movements are extremely small—just millimeters per year—and invisible to the naked eye. However, they may signal the potential for future landslides. Even minor shifts can affect thousands of miles of roads and railways over time.

According to Alessandro Novellino of the British Geological Survey, tasks that would take humans months or years can now be completed by AI in hours. This capability is enabling entirely new types of scientific research.

Although real-time satellite data is expensive and not always available, even data that is one or two years old can provide valuable insights into long-term ground movement and risk.

In other cases, AI is used after disasters occur. Following major landslides on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, researchers used AI to map more than 4,000 landslides across half the island. This information helped authorities assess damage and coordinate emergency responses.

Organizations like Network Rail in the UK are also using AI to monitor land stability around railway tracks. By combining data from sensors, drones, and inspection trains, they can detect early signs of ground movement and take preventive action.

Speed is especially critical when dealing with avalanches. These sudden flows of snow and ice can be deadly. This winter alone, more than 100 people died in avalanches in the European Alps. In February, nine skiers were killed in an avalanche near Lake Tahoe in California.

Researchers have found an unexpected source of avalanche data: webcams across the Alps. James Fox, a student at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, helped develop an AI system that can detect avalanches in these images.