KUALA LUMPUR, (The Petri Dish) – UNIVERSITI KEBANGSAAN MALAYSIA (UKM) recently launched the MyIKLIM Database, a one-stop data curation portal for climate change research in Malaysia. The portal was launched during the Climate Action Festival hosted by UKM-Yayasan Sime Darby – for Sustainability, the institute’s chair for initiatives on sustainable development.

Speaking to The Petri Dish, Dr Maggie Ooi Chel Gee, lead developer of the project said: “The objective of this initiative is to provide open data for the general public as a vehicle to promote citizen science. The data published in the portal is freely accessible and is curated for the public to understand climate change, encourage inclusive participation, and spur climate action, especially among the young.”

Ooi specialises in air quality modelling and is currently a Research Fellow at the Institute of Climate Change in UKM.

She said the website gives details on greenhouse emissions in the country, land cover maps for Peninsular Malaysia, fire hotspots, future projections of climate, processed satellite data and more. She said, for now, the website has ten archived datasets.

“More educational tools such as carbon footprint calculator and net zero attainment stimulators that monitor the progress of attaining net zero goals will also be included in the website soon. The website is specially designed to be interactive with self-explanatory images and messages.”

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