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.

A man cooling himself off under a water pipe in Bajgladesh.

Research briefs

18 May 2023

Extreme humid heat in South Asia in April 2023, largely driven by climate change, detrimental to vulnerable and disadvantaged communities

For the last two weeks of April 2023, many parts of Bangladesh, India, Thailand and Lao PDR experienced record high temperatures.

World Weather Attribution

A person doing kayak in the flooded streets of Brisbane, Australia (2022)

Update

18 May 2023

Fixing broken flood gauges is important. But most of us don’t evacuate even when we know the water is coming

Devastating floods have hit community after community on Australia’s eastern seaboard over the last three years. Weather systems were dynamic and difficult to forecast.

Conversation Media Group, the

A Vietnamese school girl bikes through the flooded streets in Ho Chi Minh wearing her school uniform.

Update

16 May 2023

New UNESCO study highlights impact of climate change on the right to education in Asia-Pacific region

The number of internally displaced persons because of disasters globally has swollen from 23.7 million people in 2021 to 32,6 million people in 2022 according to the International Displacement Monitoring Center.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization - Headquarters

Group of children eating rice from a big shared bowl

Update

15 May 2023

African farmers reap rewards of flood-tolerant rice

Two flood-resistant rice varieties are helping farmers in Africa to improve productivity, with huge potential returns for countries affected by climate change, agricultural food experts say.

Science and Development Network

Two women walking through the flooded streets of Lagos, Nigeria.

Research briefs

15 May 2023

Socio-economic development on the West African coast is a key factor for increasing flood risks

Anthropogenic factors on the West African coast are contributing more than global climate change to the rapid increase in vulnerability and flood risks in the region.

Institut de Recherche pour le Développement

aerial shot over the marshlands, on a sunny morning at Point Lookout on Long Island, New York. Viewing the beautiful blue skies, a few clouds & some empty boats docked at the pier

Research briefs

15 May 2023

Commercial investors shift perspective of coastal properties in face of climate change

Investors in commercial real estate are rethinking the values of coastal properties exposed to flood risk — even in northern U.S. locales that haven’t suffered flood damage, according to researchers.

Pennsylvania State University

An aerial view of the Mai Po nature reserve beside Shenzen City, China

Research briefs

15 May 2023

Coping with climate shocks: Ecosystems versus economic systems

Climate change is set to transform the nature we live in, threatening the poor and vulnerable more than anyone else. Many people have suggested including “resilience” as a central criterion of development.

Brookings Institution, the

Community announcement

15 May 2023

Public review of the Words into Action guide on Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction invites members of the DRR community to comment on the new Words into Action guide on Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems.

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)

Update

13 May 2023

Your guide to the High-Level Meeting of the UNGA on the Midterm Review of the Implementation of the Sendai Framework for DRR

Next week, on the 18-19 May, 187 countries are expected to gather in New York to discuss the first half of the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015- 2030).

Global Network of Civil Society Organisations for Disaster Reduction

A woman farmer harvests wheat in Lahore, Pakistan

Update

9 May 2023

Hot, dry climates call for resilient, high-performing wheat varieties

Public and private crop research organizations worldwide have worked behind the scenes for decades, bolstering the resilience of staple crops like maize and wheat to fight what is shaping up to be the battle of our time.

Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)