Research briefs

Keep up to date with the latest research on disaster risk and resilience on the PreventionWeb knowledge base.

Explore cutting-edge research on disaster risk reduction and resilience through PreventionWeb's dedicated research briefs section. Our platform curates and highlights the most recent academic studies, providing valuable insights into disaster risk management. Each research brief distills key findings from peer-reviewed journals and academic publications.

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These briefs are designed to keep you informed about the latest scientific advances. Links to the full publications are always included, ensuring easy access to in-depth knowledge. Please note that this section exclusively features academic research, distinct from reports by international organizations or Non-Governmental Organisations.

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Research briefs
Backlash is often swift when authorities try to plan retreat from the coast. There’s a better way

With climate change likely to accelerate extreme weather in Australia, planned or managed retreat – moving people and infrastructure away from these areas – will grow only more important.

Conversation Media Group, the
Research briefs
Cities are making it rain more – but not as much as scientists thought

Scientists think it really is raining more often over cities, but perhaps not as much as we thought.

Conversation Media Group, the
Wildfire heatwave compund event
Research briefs
Record wildfire losses rocked 2025 even as global burned area neared all-time lows

An analysis of global wildfire activity in 2025 reveals the world experienced some of the most destructive and deadly fire events in recent history, despite the second-lowest area burned since 2002.

University of East Anglia
A Black adult man has a headache. He sits and holds his hands on his head in a dark room.
Research briefs
Heatwaves: older people less likely to follow safety advice

Extreme heat is now considered the deadliest weather and climate-related hazard in Europe, causing more deaths than floods or storms.

Conversation Media Group, the
Research briefs
Fatalities from landslides in earthquakes

A study by Sun et al. 2026 shows that in six earthquakes in China between 2010 and 2022, landslides and rockfalls were responsible for at least half of the total fatalities.

Eos - AGU
Drone view of Vulcano Island near Sicily, Lipari, Aeolian Islands, Italy.
Research briefs
From volcanic vents to safer skies

Improved estimates of Eruption Source Parameters can sharpen forecasts of volcanic plume rise and ash dispersal, supporting aviation safety and hazard response.

Eos - AGU
Atmospheric aerial view of a green forest with planet Earth
Research briefs
Global human population pushing Earth past breaking point

The Earth has already exceeded its ability to support the global population sustainably, with new research warning of increasing pressure on food security, climate stability, and human wellbeing.

Flinders University
Research briefs
Climate change could significantly worsen summer air quality in future decades

Across the world, air pollution is associated with more early deaths than any other environmental exposure, raising risks of dying from lung cancer, respiratory infection, heart and lung disease and other causes.

Conversation Media Group, the