In the 04/06/2024 edition:
News: World must step up support for SIDS as ‘expression of responsibility’
By United Nations - Headquarters on Jun 03, 2024 07:11 pm
The developed world must increase support for small island developing States “not as an expression of generosity but of responsibility”, the UN’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction has said.
News: This coastal State’s approach to flooding may be a model for Illinois communities
By Illinois Answers Project on Jun 03, 2024 07:00 pm
Illinois and New Jersey have a problem in common: Flooding, and its devastation on communities. Here, the Illinois Answers Project examines why New Jersey’s work on this front is seen as a national model.
By Conversation Media Group, the on Jun 03, 2024 06:43 pm
At the recent Sixth United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA), world governments were unable to come to an agreement on whether to call for a scientific assessment of the potential and risks of SRM deployment and the resolution was withdrawn.
News: New landslide forecasting system helping researchers save lives in Nepal
By University of Melbourne on Jun 03, 2024 06:35 pm
Scientists from multiple universities teamed up with the Government of Nepal and Australia to deliver a state-of-the-art artificial intelligence system that can analyse the amount of data needed to identify when rain-soaked ground is about to give-way.
News: How MapAction is using data to reduce human suffering in Madagascar
By MapAction on Jun 03, 2024 06:34 pm
MapAction has been working in Madagascar since 2012, providing maps and information management services for emergency respondents. These efforts were a combination of in-person responses with UN agencies and partners, as well as remote support.
By World Food Programme on Jun 03, 2024 06:32 pm
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) called for urgent global support for small island nations disproportionately impacted by the climate crisis, with many bracing for what is expected to be an intense and destructive Atlantic hurricane season.
News: When stones start rolling
By ETH Zurich on Jun 03, 2024 04:03 pm
The landslide in Brienz (GR) in 2023 kept Switzerland on tenterhooks for weeks. Researchers from ETH Zurich, WSL and SLF used a model to provide a highly accurate blind prediction of where the sliding mass would come to rest.
By Conversation Media Group, the on Jun 03, 2024 02:56 pm
New research suggests that while Greenland is indeed losing huge and worrisome volumes of ice right now, that might not continue for long enough to shut down the current on its own. A closer look at evidence from the past shows why.
News: Italy investigates potential threat of tsunamis
By Temblor on Jun 03, 2024 01:48 pm
Simulations of underwater earthquakes and landslides in the Ionian Sea found that they could generate tsunami waves as high as 2.5 meters in southern Italy.
News: New tool informs flooding and sea level rise solutions for San Francisco Bay Area
By United States Geological Survey on Jun 03, 2024 07:36 am
A team of scientists and engineers have created a new computer model that can inform key decision-making and guide flood prevention efforts both now and in the future.
By Associated Press on Jun 01, 2024 04:11 pm
The world hasn’t really noticed how the type of storms that once killed tens or hundreds of thousands of people now only claim handfuls of lives, says new United Nations Assistant Secretary-General Kamal Kishore.
By London School of Economics and Political Science, the on Jun 01, 2024 01:51 pm
The UK experienced five heatwave periods over the summer of 2022, with a wide range of impacts including more excess heat-related deaths than in previous years and especially severe health impacts for at-risk groups such as the elderly and young children.
News: Delhi temperature may break record for highest ever in India: 126.1 degrees
By CBS News, CBS Corporation on May 31, 2024 03:54 pm
A temperature reading collected in Delhi, India's capital territory, may have broken national records as the country grapples with a blistering heat wave. If confirmed, it would be the highest temperature ever registered anywhere in India.
News: Optimizing earthquake data flow allows scientific research on 'The Big One'
By University of Southern California on May 31, 2024 03:53 pm
Although scientists cannot forecast when and where earthquakes will strike, preparation is key to improving society's resilience to large earthquakes.
News: Sponge city: How San Salvador is using nature to fight floods
By United Nations Environment Programme on May 31, 2024 03:51 pm
City officials and coffee farmers, with support from UNEP, have launched a project to restore 1,150 hectares of forests and coffee plantations. The goal: revive San Salvador’s ability to absorb rainfall.
By Conversation Media Group, the on May 31, 2024 03:50 pm
The exact death toll is still unknown, and estimates have varied, but the figure could be as many as 2,000 or more. Estimating deaths in disasters comes with a range of challenges and we may never know the actual number of lives lost.
By Conversation Media Group, the on May 31, 2024 03:49 pm
The Delhi heatwave is further evidence that climate modelling has been largely underestimating the speed and intensity of global warming. Heat beyond the limits of human endurance is no longer a distant dystopian future. It’s here and now.
News: ‘Cape of Storms’ – climate researchers explain Cape Town’s recent extreme weather
By Conversation Media Group, the on May 31, 2024 03:48 pm
A severe storm hit South Africa’s Western Cape province between 6 and 9 April 2024, with extreme winds gusting at up to 135km/h. The storm left a trail of destruction across Cape Town and surrounding areas.
News: Scientists predict high groundwater depletion risk in South Korea by 2080
By Pohang University of Science and Technology on May 31, 2024 03:45 pm
A recent study has alarmed the scientific community by predicting that approximately three million people in currently untapped areas of Korea could face groundwater depletion by 2080.
By United States Department of Health and Human Services on May 31, 2024 03:44 pm
New tool – the first-ever to provide zip-code level data – will help target heat-related health resources and prioritize life-saving interventions for communities most affected by extreme heat.
News: Is climate action on extreme heat a human right?
By Yale Climate Connections on May 31, 2024 12:19 pm
The case for federal heat protection laws.
By World Bank, the on May 31, 2024 11:49 am
This article details how Brazil is ensuring that the most vulnerable and poor don't fall deeper into poverty during this crisis and how a social protection system supports crisis response.
By United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction on May 31, 2024 10:02 am
UNDRR welcomes the proposed outcome document of the SIDS4 conference, the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS (ABAS), for its vision on disaster risk reduction in Small Island Developing States
News: Dominican Republic at the forefront of adaptive social protection systems
By World Bank, the on May 31, 2024 06:44 am
In a challenging context, the experience of the Dominican Republic demonstrates that adaptive social protection is a powerful tool for reducing poverty and vulnerability, and promoting sustainable growth.
News: Dominican Republic: a climate-resilient social protection system
By World Bank, the on May 31, 2024 06:36 am
A recent analysis of the strategies employed by Dominican households between 2019 and 2021 to face the adverse effects of disasters confirmed that poor families cut their spending on food, health, and education in the aftermath of a climate extreme event.
News: How safe is volcano tourism?
By British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on May 30, 2024 05:05 pm
Not only do volcanologists now have the ability to predict the likelihood of activity in advance, but important collaborations between scientists and local officials mean that many places, have systems in place to convey early warnings.
News: ASU scientists use new technologies to monitor, mitigate heat exposure risk
By Arizona State University on May 30, 2024 03:51 pm
An ASU team, led by Rykaczewski, along with colleagues Jennifer Vanos and Ariane Middel, are currently working on a four-year, $2 million National Science Foundation project to better quantify the impact of heat on the human body.
News: Improving air quality increases forest fires
By University of California, Riverside on May 30, 2024 03:42 pm
The study found that boreal forests in the northern hemisphere are particularly vulnerable to negative effects of cleaning up aerosol pollution. This includes forests in Canada, Alaska, northern Europe, and northern Russia.
By Conversation Media Group, the on May 30, 2024 03:32 pm
In 1955, Diane became known as the first billion-dollar storm. The compound impacts prompted Congress to fund major studies of hurricane meteorology and protection efforts.
By Conversation Media Group, the on May 30, 2024 03:31 pm
Our findings show the volcano can explain last year’s extraordinarily large ozone hole, as well as the much wetter than expected summer of 2024. The eruption could have lingering effects on our winter weather for years to come.
News: Tanzania’s dams: flood risk depends on how they’re planned and operated
By Conversation Media Group, the on May 30, 2024 03:30 pm
The Rufiji River experienced a major wave of flooding in April 2024. There has been much debate in Tanzania on the causes of this disaster, particularly the presumed role of the new Julius Nyerere Dam, which is built on the river.
News: Post breakthrough: How AI can lift climate research out of the lab and into the real world
By World Economic Forum on May 30, 2024 12:08 pm
Technological breakthroughs are not enough. The climate crisis cannot be solved inside a laboratory: impact comes when technological and scientific advances make it into the real world.
News: Preparing for urban floods with an eye toward equity
By Stanford University on May 30, 2024 11:56 am
Researchers and collaborators in a densely populated California floodplain developed a way to help planners see how infrastructure designs, sea-level rise, and severe storms fueled by climate change will affect flood risk at the local level.
By Conversation Media Group, the on May 30, 2024 11:34 am
A growing body of evidence demonstrates women and gender-diverse people are disproportionately vulnerable to the changing climate and the consequences it brings.
News: Earth scientists describe a new kind of volcanic eruption
By University of Oregon on May 30, 2024 02:11 am
The Kīlauea volcano erupted like a stomp-rocket in 2018, new research shows.
News: Climate change added average of 26 days of extreme heat over last year
By International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) on May 29, 2024 05:45 pm
Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, World Weather Attribution and Climate Central released a report looking at the role climate change played in increasing the number of extreme heat days around the world over the last twelve months.
News: Researchers unveil the mechanisms for local amplification of 2024 tsunamis in Iida Bay, Japan
By Tokyo Institute of Technology on May 29, 2024 05:06 pm
To protect against unusual tsunamis, advanced countermeasures are required. Understanding the special mechanisms that lead to the concentration of these tsunamis is therefore of utmost importance.
News: Risks of bridge collapses are real and set to rise — here’s why
By Nature Publishing Group on May 29, 2024 04:58 pm
Hundreds of millions of people cross deficient bridges each day. With damage to these structures likely to intensify because of climate change and ageing, technicians and policymakers must act to make them safer.
News: From ashes to alerts: Science helps protect Colorado travelers
By United States Geological Survey on May 29, 2024 04:41 pm
In the summer of 2021, travelers in Colorado's Glenwood Canyon were safely evacuated before massive mounds of mud and rocks buried highways and destroyed bridges, thanks to a debris flow warning system developed in part by the U.S. Geological Survey.
News: Climate change and mental health: How extreme heat can affect mental illnesses
By Conversation Media Group, the on May 29, 2024 04:21 pm
The potential for heat stress, heat exhaustion and heat stroke are well known hazards of extreme heat. Physical health is not the only factor to consider under extreme heat; mental health can also suffer.
By PhysOrg, Omicron Technology Ltd on May 29, 2024 04:04 pm
A team investigated the observed and climate model projected changes in extreme high temperature warning indicators across China. They found an approximately linear increase in the intensity of extreme high temperatures exceeding 35°C and 40°C.
News: 10th meeting of Portuguese Resilient Cities Network held in Évora of Portugal
By United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction - Regional Office for Europe & Central Asia on May 29, 2024 03:47 pm
From May 22nd to 24th, the 10th Meeting of the Network of Portuguese Resilient Cities and Towns, integrated into the National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), took place in Évora, Alentejo region of Portugal.
News: How cities around the world are finding ways to beat extreme heat
By Context on May 29, 2024 03:39 pm
With heatwaves breaking records around the world, urban planners and local officials are coming up with solutions to keep sweltering cities cooler, and save lives.
News: Zombie fires in the Arctic smoulder underground and refuse to die – what’s causing them?
By Conversation Media Group, the on May 29, 2024 01:03 pm
So-called “zombie fires” in the peatlands of Alaska, Canada and Siberia disappear from the Earth’s surface and smoulder underground during the winter before coming back to life the following spring.
News: Join the survey: Asia Pacific Science and Technology Conference on DRR (APSTCDRR)
By Integrated Research on Disaster Risk on May 28, 2024 01:23 pm
Please join the survey to learn about the role and progress of science and technology in disaster risk reduction in the region.
News: Subsidised drought insurance for farmers in Austria
By Climate-ADAPT on May 28, 2024 01:10 pm
The subsidised public-private drought insurance system for agriculture adopted by the Austrian government combines indemnity-based insurance with weather index-based products.
News: As rains falter, Jamaica’s urban farmers race to adapt
By United Nations Environment Programme on May 28, 2024 01:01 pm
The Abilities Foundation is one of six schools and community centres in Kingston to receive rainwater harvesting tanks courtesy of CityAdapt, an effort led by UNEP to help Caribbean communities contend with climate change.
News: What causes landslides? Can we predict them to save lives?
By Conversation Media Group, the on May 28, 2024 12:16 pm
In Landslides, it is difficult to locate potential survivors, as landslides carry away buildings and their occupants in an unpredictable manner. What causes these devastating events and why are they so sudden and unpredictable?
News: Changing native vegetation laws to allow burning on private land is good fire management
By Conversation Media Group, the on May 28, 2024 12:02 pm
With greater knowledge and understanding of the role of fire in the Australian landscape, we can take better care of native vegetation on private land. There's a strong case to be made for private landholders to conduct their own cool burns.
By Conversation Media Group, the on May 28, 2024 11:44 am
More than 2,000 people are now feared dead after a huge landslide buried a village in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, Australia's nearest neighbor.
News: Results are in for a Los Angeles cool pavement experiment
By SmartCitiesWorld on May 28, 2024 03:43 am
The covered neighborhood saw cooling benefits, a new study finds. But some researchers contend shade is king when it comes to protecting people from heat.
News: From dream to climate action: Advancing early warnings for flashfloods for all
By World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on May 28, 2024 03:35 am
The purpose of this interview is to inform strategic discussion among WMO Members on how to Integrate the flash flood guidance system into national policies, strategies, and planning.
