Knowledge Base highlights and editors' picks

Top stories and editors' picks from the most recent additions. Explore the whole Knowledge Base.

Every week the PreventionWeb team of editors selects the latest news and research, reports and publications on disaster risk reduction – here is their selection of the latest must-read content.

An elderly man drinks from a water bottle on a hot day
Research briefs
A new study by researchers at Penn State has found that older women are physiologically more vulnerable to high heat and humidity than older men, and that women between the ages of 40 and 64 are as vulnerable as men 65 years of age or older.
Pennsylvania State University
Nairobi, Kenya
Research briefs
A study has found that Global South cities have just 70% of the “cooling capacity” provided by urban greenery in the Global North.
University of Exeter
African woman fetching unclean and contaminated water from a pond or stream for their daily consumption
Research briefs
Research at Stockholm University is now presenting an alternative method for quantifying the global risk of water scarcity. Results indicate higher risks to water supply than previously expected.
Stockholm University
Iraq drought and desert
Update
Drought creeps in gradually, often going unnoticed until it reaches a critical stage. This slow progression makes drought particularly challenging to manage and mitigate.
Pohang University of Science and Technology
ancient house
Update
Retrofitting modern cities and their glass towers for better heat control isn’t simple, but there are techniques that can be adapted to new designs for living better in hotter and drier climates and for relying less on constant summer air conditioning.
Conversation Media Group, the
Big crack in a road following an earthquake.
Research briefs
The public could have days or months of warning about a major earthquake through identification of prior low-level tectonic unrest over large areas, according to research by a University of Alaska Fairbanks scientist.
University of Alaska Fairbanks
African woman, Ghana
Update
Africa bears an increasingly heavy burden from climate change and disproportionately high costs for essential climate adaptation, according to a new report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
Beach area
Update
Accurate sea-level data, combined with an understanding of the depth and shape of coastal terrain, enables more precise modelling of marine hazards.
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Biking in flood
Research briefs
Scientists have developed new guidance and tools that could significantly improve the prediction of life-threatening flash flooding.
Newcastle University
earthquake
Research briefs
While earthquakes cannot be deterministically predicted, operational earthquake forecasting systems can provide valuable insights into the likelihood of future quakes.
Eos - AGU
illustration
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