Cultural heritage

Traditional construction methods were no match for the earthquake that rocked Morocco on Friday night, an engineering expert says, and the area will continue to see such devastation unless updated building techniques are adopted.

A fresh reminder of the area’s fragility came on the night of 4 August 2023, when a major landslide hit the Kedarnath pilgrimage route amid heavy rains. The landslide washed away several shops near Gaurikund, the start of the Kedarnath trek.

Changing weather patterns in northwest China are putting ancient Silk Road cave murals and statues at risk, new research has found, underscoring how a warming atmosphere threatens some of the country’s most precious historical artifacts.

In light of increasing extreme weather and climate incidents and a record-breaking wildfire season across the country, Indigenous leaders should think twice before participating in the resource extraction industry.

Lola Kotova from Climate Service Center Germany (GERICS) unpacks climate information for strengthening the resilience of cultural heritage in times of anthropogenic climate change, presenting in this vein a fascinating case study for Germany.