This report identifies key challenges in preparing for future changes to the critical risk landscape, drawing on reports, ‘Survey on Governance of Critical Risks’ and ‘Survey on Governance of Critical Infrastructure Resilience’ carried out in 2022-25.

The Africa Early Warnings Forum, held from 2 to 4 September 2026, comes at a critical moment for the continent. Since the UN Secretary-General launched EW4All in 2022, calling for universal protection by 2027, significant progress has been achieved.

The ocean is rising faster now than at any point in recorded history. Rising sea levels have a significant impact on human rights, economic development, health, culture, the future of many countries and basic human dignity.

Fire adds a further layer of risk. Wildfire strips vegetation that normally protects soil from rainfall, and can increase soil water repellency, affecting infiltration, runoff and erosion.

Beavers are often called ecosystem engineers. They fell small trees, build dams and dig channels. Water backs up behind their dams, spills across the valley bottom and soaks into the surrounding soil.

Peat fires are a recurring challenge in Indonesia. Drought caused the archipelago's peat landscapes to become unrelenting infernos on several occasions in the past, with fires producing blankets of smoke for weeks and upending daily life for millions.

A survey of 1,207 households across three severely affected districts (Buner, Shangla, and Swat) revealed that 85 percent of families received no warning before the flood waters arrived. For those that did, half had less than thirty minutes to act.

During a 100-year geomagnetic storm, 3.5 million people and 91,000 businesses are predicted to lose power, with daily economic losses of $1.22 billion.

An increase in pollution from wildfires and heatwaves risks undermining international efforts to improve air quality and protect human and ecosystem health, according to a new WMO report, which traces interlinkages between air quality and climate.

Climate vulnerability is often associated with cyclones and disappearing coastlines, but major climate risks are also affecting landlocked countries, where climate change is altering glaciers, lakes and rivers that sustain lives and livelihoods.

UC Riverside scientists have developed a way to identify where Earth’s biggest earthquakes are most likely to occur, offering a powerful new tool for improving disaster preparations in some of the most dangerous seismic regions.

There were two “systems” that warned people about the impending danger that day: one built by the state relying on sensors and SMS messages, the other relying on community-based ties. Only the second worked reliably.

A new study provides insight into the economic impact of melting permafrost on Arctic communities. Permafrost is ground that permanently remains below freezing for at least two consecutive years. Permafrost covers about 24% of the Northern Hemisphere.

The report assesses current context of sea level rise, key challenges and ongoing efforts by Member States and the UN system to address such challenges. The report builds on the Sep 2024 high-level plenary meeting to address sea level rise threats.

In grasslands across the American West, four-legged fire prevention crews are busy at work, helping keep wildfire risk under control. These cattle, goats and sheep stomp down tall grasses as they munch their way through plants that could otherwise burn.

WMO update on the strengthening El Niño event and its implications for global temperature and rainfall patterns through early 2027.

The report examines pathways to limit and reverse1.5°C overshoot. While limiting warming to 1.5°C remains central to the Paris Agreement, current policies and near-term trajectories say exceeding this threshold is now widely considered unavoidable.

Currently, water samples must be transported to a laboratory to reveal pollution. But new sensor technology is enabling researchers to measure pesticides in the water on site – and get the results right away.

Along the Nepal-Tibet border, the long road to recovery has only just begun. Amidst profound grief and loss, local communities are already providing support to their most vulnerable. Governments and international organisations should follow their lead.

As storms happen more often and with more intensity, considering the full life cycle of a building and its costs over time becomes increasingly important to get an accurate picture of how sustainable that building really is.

A team found that for every standard deviation increase marine heat wave occurrences in a 24-month period child mortality increases by 5.4 percent. Malnutrition related child wasting and child stunting also increased by 6.5 and 8.8 percent respectively.

Machine-learning techniques could help provide more warning. By detecting subtle changes in the continuous vibrations around a volcano, they can potentially identify signs of an impending eruption hours beforehand.

Experts say the Nepal-Tibet flood was driven by a glacier collapse, monsoon-saturated conditions and high exposure in a vulnerable mountain corridor. The disaster highlights cascading risks, preparedness gaps and the need for cross-border warning systems.

This study, published in the journal Science, examined corals in Galapagos and found that the 1982-83 and 1997-98 El Niños – two of the strongest in recent memory – may be harbingers of more extreme events to come as the planet warms.

First international global assessment of long-term active layer monitoring data at the George Washington University Department of Geography and Environment demonstrates clear global evidence that permafrost is thawing across much of the planet.

This report analyses private sector engagement in early warning systems through a functional, system-level lens.

A catastrophic flash flood has struck northern Nepal on the Tibetan border, killing at least 157 people and leaving hundreds missing, including at least 34 Australians. The death toll is expected to rise.

Extreme weather is increasingly disrupting roads, railways, airports and waterways, exposing vulnerabilities in transport networks and supply chains and highlighting the growing need for climate-resilient infrastructure and adaptation measures.

Proper tree maintenance can help trees withstand hurricanes. The audio explores how pruning, planting the right species and managing tree health can reduce storm damage and help communities build resilience.

A weaker monsoon does not mean less extreme rainfall. Long dry spells can be interrupted by intense cloudbursts, triggering floods and landslides. Kerala shows how a season can be dry overall yet still bring devastating rainfall.

Climate change has amplified Europe’s heatwaves and increased the severity of the 2026 drought . With these effects expected to intensify, Europe can learn a lot from African leaders – and share resources and knowledge in turn. They have been here before.

The recent earthquakes are not unusual in number; they are notable because they have impacted people and communities. However, even the number of earthquakes that cause a lot of destruction remains fairly stable.

This document maps global water-related risks facing coastal populations by combining six water stressors, exposure and vulnerability. It identifies major risk hotspots in Asia and highlights the need for integrated, high-resolution risk assessment.

The survey of over 2000 respondents in Nepal and Bangladesh confirms extreme heat is a pervasive and escalating risk, significantly degrading public health, livelihoods and well-being and provides evidence for increasing investment in heat interventions

Climate change can extend mosquito activity and, speed up their development and reproduction. Scientists are controlling mosquito populations using Wolbachia carrying male mosquitoes which produce eggs that don't hatch and sterilize female mosquitoes.

Scientists have identified hotspots for compound marine heat wave and ocean acidification events, finding they occur more often than expected and can severely disrupt marine ecosystems, fisheries and ocean biodiversity.

As heat waves intensify, advocates are pushing for protections for incarcerated people, who have little ability to escape dangerous temperatures.

Morocco’s Integrated Disaster Risk Management and Resilience Program shifted the country from disaster response to risk prevention, financing >300 resilience projects, protecting millions of people and strengthening disaster risk financing by 2025.

Emerging research shows that a drier world is often a sicker one, too. A new study takes stock of nearly 100 scientific studies of diseases found throughout the animal kingdom to reveal how drought can help deadly infections and parasites spread.

Solar power proved the only major energy source that performed better than normal during Europe’s summer of extremes, experts found. When paired with batteries, it helped supply thousands of AC units during historic hot conditions.

For many foodborne diseases, the environment plays an important role in transmission. As climate change increasingly affects global temperatures and weather events, the risks of transmission will increase.

WeatherNext enables accurate cyclone forecasts that can give an extra day of warning. Now we are open sourcing the model.

A study finds climate change will increase wildfire activity across Europe, but investments in fire management, prevention and suppression could significantly reduce burned area, highlighting the importance of combining adaptation with climate mitigation.

Below-normal monsoon forecast for parts of Hindu Kush Himalaya in 2026 is not expected to reduce disaster risks, scientists warn that short bursts of intense rainfall, rising temperatures, and growing water stress could make the season more dangerous.

This study finds that age-specific heat tolerance thresholds dramatically increase estimates of future heat exposure, with older adults facing severe risks under global warming.

The IDB is advancing regenerative roads in Latin America and the Caribbean by integrating nature-based solutions to reduce risks and costs due to poor logistics performance, growing exposure to natural hazards, and accelerating loss of natural capital.

As climate change increases aridity worldwide, the article explores how Rio Conventions and Sendai Framework can support coordinated adaptation through better land and water management, risk monitoring, inclusive governance and resilience-building.

A leadership programme in Fiji found that combining climate resilience training with confidence-building and leadership development can strengthen women’s participation in climate action and support more inclusive, resilient communities.

Governments are facing increasingly frequent, complex, and costly disaster risks, while the systems used to manage them are fragmented across agencies and jurisdictions, causing states and localities to adopt comprehensive resilience plans.

FIU researchers developed an expanded economic model to measure the value of hurricane forecasts. They included injuries, evacuation costs and the long-term consequences of forecast errors into their calculations and found a single injury costs ~$133,066.