An innovative competition aimed at stimulating the use of big data to highlight the impacts of climate change has received an overwhelming response from the global scientific community, prompting organizers of the “Big Data Climate Challenge” to announce extension of the submission deadline to June 30.

The Big Data Climate Challenge brings together the fields of Big Data and climate change for the first time in a global competition. It is being hosted by United Nations Global Pulse in support of the Secretary-General’s Climate Summit on 23 September 2014 at UN Headquarters in New York, just before the UN General Assembly. Winners of the Challenge will get the opportunity to showcase their projects at the Climate Summit, which will attended by heads of state, CEOs of major corporations and civil society organizations from around the world. The Big Data Climate Challenge seeks published or implemented projects that use Big Data to show the real world impacts of climate change, revealing both the economic implications of climate impact and opportunities to manage climate risks.

Multidisciplinary initiatives from all relevant fields may apply, including but not limited to energy, smart cities, transportation, agriculture and food systems, recycling, material sciences, risk management, architecture and design, finance and carbon markets.A global Advisory Board of high-profile experts in climate science, data and sustainable development will help evaluate submissions. The Board includes advisors from Skoll Global, African Development Bank, Indian Institute of Science, MIT Senseable Cities Lab and World Meteorological Organization. Additional advisors from UN agencies including World Food Programme, UN Environment Programme and UN Population Fund will provide further technical support.

“We’re confident that data-driven climate solutions exist around the globe—we just have to find them. And the Big Data Climate Challenge seeks to unearth and highlight the best examples out there,” said UN Global Pulse Chief Scientist Dr. Miguel Luengo-Oroz. “The impressive submissions that the Challenge has already received demonstrate both the relevance and importance of bringing the Big Data and climate communities together.”

The Big Data Climate Challenge represents an opportunity for scientists and researchers to share their work on an international stage, engaging world leaders, climate experts and the general public to strengthen global resilience and drive climate action.