News and announcements

They’re trying to prevent power lines from sparking catastrophic fires. But there are also worries about how the added expense will fall on ratepayers.

Researchers found that the risk grows when the heat index exceeds 85 degrees Fahrenheit and increases sharply at higher temperatures.

A Duke University program is training rural faith leaders to educate residents and provide relief during heat waves.

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.

While an imminent catastrophe is not predicted in Jammu and Kashmir’s Chenab Valley, recent studies and government assessments suggest that Kishtwar district possesses many of the characteristics that make Himalayan regions vulnerable to such disasters.

Study finds that rapid root-zone soil moisture depletion during flash droughts is more strongly linked to accelerated wildfire spread than conventional drought conditions across the United States.

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.

This study investigates the complex interplay between local knowledge, awareness, perception, and preparedness among residents of Bogura City, Bangladesh, in the context of earthquake risk.

In Marigot, two spring-fed water systems faced the same storm. One continued delivering water while the other failed completely, showing how early investment in source protection and disaster risk reduction can strengthen resilience.

This study uses Earth Observation data and Google Earth Engine to assess agricultural drought risk across Odisha, India. Results identify western districts as highest risk and support targeted drought mitigation, planning and climate resilience actions.

New research shows the most destructive tsunami from Tonga’s 2022 Hunga eruption was triggered by caldera collapse, not an explosion. The collapse generated detectable underwater sound waves that could help provide earlier warnings of volcanic tsunamis.

This paper identifies transboundary GLODF threats across the Himalayas and projects their future evolution under climate change, highlighting growing risks, hotspots along the China–Nepal border, and the need for stronger monitoring and early warning.

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.

The sixth WMO Air Quality and Climate Bulletin examines links between air quality and climate change, highlighting aerosol impacts, wildfire smoke, ozone pollution and atmospheric monitoring needs.

A globally scalable framework combines dense-array seismic observations, rupture imaging and shaking models to estimate earthquake impacts within minutes of origin time.

Flash flood in Grand Canyon was probably due to a confluence of climate factors, including drought, wildfire scarring and warming temperatures in the Pacific Ocean that can supercharge storms. Scientists warn of stronger extremes due to climate crisis.

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.

This toolkit examines how mis- and disinformation during extreme weather can undermine disaster response, offering practical guidance to build information resilience before, during and after crises.

Over the past half-century, annual hot-season temperatures in parts of the United States have warmed by as much as 4 or 5 degrees Fahrenheit, driving heat waves, droughts, and downpours.

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.

The new technique would run artificial intelligence on a simulation of what’s called a quantum reservoir computer — that’s a network based on measurements of how atoms interact with each other — to manipulate weather data for pattern discovery.

By analyzing the way that vibrations scatter light through the wires, scientists can detect volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and even footsteps above. Last year, researchers laid a cable on the seafloor near a Greenland glacier.

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.

Research shows that the Arctic is warming four times faster than the global average. The sea ice is melting, exposing more open ocean and throwing the ecosystem out of balance.

A national Coastal Exposure Index maps relative climate hazard exposure around Ireland, highlighting exposure hotspots, coastal habitats’ protective role and populations and cultural heritage sites near highly exposed coastlines.

This study underscores the significant barriers immigrant women face, including language limitations, limited access to resources, and strong reliance on faith-based coping strategies.

This study applies regional scoping framework, a risk-to-action chain that follows risk as it moves through a system from information, to decisions, to finance, to action, to impact.

Using a qualitative key informant interviewing design, this study examined how flood risk management (FRM) is implemented in Rize through the perspectives of 51 senior civil ser-vants, appointees, technical experts, and managers involved in FRM

This study sets out to examine how vernacular water-based settlements develop constructive and spatial responses to flood-related hazards, and what recurring combinations of responses can be identified across distinct hydro-climatic contexts.

The aim of this research is to assess whether, and to what extent, climate change influenced the Caribbean drought, particularly in Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and the Lesser Antilles, where drought conditions were most severe.

A new study suggests that El Ninos—the natural climatic chaos agent that pops up periodically and spikes global temperatures—are getting stronger because of human-caused climate change.

This paper analyses 150 years of census and hazard data to assess how extreme weather affected population trends in Northern Australia. It finds floods and cyclones can disrupt population growth highlighting need for resilience and adaptation planning.

This study tests a survey tool for identifying information voids during climate emergencies, showing how gaps in information quantity, quality, source and channel can affect disaster communication.

The Government of Japan, in partnership with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), will host the 2027 Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction from 25 to 29 October 2027 in Sendai City, Japan.

This scoping review maps peer-reviewed evidence on drought adaptation in the SADC region, which exhibits an observed downward trend in precipitation, making it a valuable case to study diverse approaches to managing changing risk.

The Himalayan flood exposed a risk that begins beyond Nepal’s borders – and demands a response that does too.

Bosai is a Japanese concept that encompasses all stages of disaster management. In a country where natural hazards are a frequent threat, understanding bosai is one of the most practical ways for individuals to protect themselves and those around them.

Social media conspiracy theorists quickly pinned the blame on an Alaskan research project, claiming the deadly wall of water and debris was a "man-made disaster." AFP has repeatedly debunked claims that the HAARP is to blame for extreme weather events.

Study finds extreme high ocean temperatures and low productivity, when combined, significantly increase the risk of fisheries declines worldwide. Risks are projected to intensify by mid-century, highlighting the need for adaptive fisheries management.

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

For past 50 years in B.C., clear-cut logging has been the primary method of timber extraction. Floods are frequent and more expensive now, and unlike the storms that help trigger them, clear cutting and the associated cumulative impacts are manageable.

An evaluation of more than two decades of World Bank Group support for epidemic preparedness, highlighting achievements, gaps, and opportunities to strengthen global health security.

Study uses the 2020 Gjerdrum landslide as a natural experiment to examine how climate risk salience affects housing markets. Exposed properties experienced temporary price declines of 1–1.5 per cent, while new residential development in risk zones fell.

This toolkit examines how extreme weather events fuel mis- and disinformation and provides frameworks for assessing readiness, triaging threats, building partnerships and strengthening information resilience before, during and after disasters.

A team analyzed radar data from European Space Agency’s Sentinel-1 satellites acquired between 8 January and 18 August. The last observation was only seven days before the disaster. Images revealed accelerated glacier-rock movement before the collapse.