Cornelia Scholz ^1* Catalina Jaime ^1,2 Emmanuel Raju ³ Erin Coughlan De Perez ^1,4 Maarten van Aalst ^2,5,6

• ¹ Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, The Hague, Netherlands
• ² Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation, University of Twente, Enschede, Netherlands
• ³ Copenhagen Center for Disaster Research, Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Capital Region of Denmark, Denmark
• ⁴ Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
• ⁵ Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, De Bilt, Netherlands
• ⁶ International Research Institute for Climate and Society, Columbia Climate School, Columbia University, Palisades, New York, United States

This paper investigates the potential of using OpenStreetMap (OSM) data to understand exposure and vulnerabilities to climate-related hazards of Sudan's most vulnerable populations, such as internally displaced persons (IDPs) or refugees displaced by violent conflict. The rise of conflict in 2023 has triggered a surge in OSM mapping activities, including organized mapping events focused on the support of humanitarian efforts in conflict context. This increase is particularly aimed at addressing the heightened humanitarian needs caused by the conflict and assisting vulnerable populations impacted by violence. In this study, we assess the suitability of using OSM data to enable impact-based forecasting (IbF) as part of Early Warning Early Action (EWEA) to climate-related hazards in data-scarce, conflict-affected regions of Sudan. Our study explores the perspectives of OSM data producers and users, focusing on crucial themes such as data quality, ethics, user needs, or community inclusion. Our findings reveal that OSM data is perceived to be incomplete in Sudan due to numerous challenges, exacerbated by factors like the lag in satellite imagery updates compared to the rapidly evolving population movements in conflict-affected areas. Despite various challenges, the overall lack of geospatial data paired with the urgent need to understand exposure of vulnerable populations to climate-related hazards in the intersection of conflict highlights the usability of OSM as a tool to actively map high-risk areas to fill these crucial data gaps. TO do so, it is essential to address the communication gap between OSM producers and users to ensure the effective utilization of collected data for its intended purpose. Moreover, community inclusion emerges as a significant concern, marked by gender disparities and accompanied by challenges in obtaining mapping permissions, and the impact of the digital divide. Based on these findings and recent changes in the mapping data landscape due to the escalation of conflict, we advocate for identifying high-risk, unmapped areas vulnerable to climate-related hazards in Sudan and increasing the frequency and spatial coverage of OSM mapping efforts in these regions. Emphasizing community empowerment and ethical data management will be essential to the success of these mapping initiatives.