Knowledge Base highlights and editors' picks

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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 Syrian girl at Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan.

Update

6 June 2023

Refugee camps are at higher risk of extreme weather – new research

Around the world, climate change, violence and poverty are forcing people from their homes. The UN’s refugee agency estimated that by mid-2022, there were 103 million people displaced from their homes, compared to 90 million at the end of 2021.

Conversation Media Group, the

Update

5 June 2023

Wildfire preparedness and response must include planning for unhoused people and other vulnerable populations

The 2023 Canadian wildfire season is off to a roaring start. In Alberta, there have been more than 560 wildfires so far — the highest recorded number of fires since 2018, and the season has only just begun

Conversation Media Group, the

Documents and publications

6 June 2023

The unequal effect of temperature on test scores: Evidence from Colombia

This paper investigates the unequal impact of environmental shocks on high-stakes test scores across income levels to document that climate change will exacerbate inequality.

Update

2 June 2023

Introducing super drought: A new framework and web service

In recent years, the world has witnessed an alarming increase in the occurrence and severity of catastrophic droughts across various regions. What truly defines an extreme drought?

Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Gold money coin with trading graph, financial investment concept can use as background

Update

2 June 2023

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst: South Asia’s fiscal needs in the era of climate shocks

South Asian countries have come out of the pandemic with eroded fiscal space and record public debt. Global financial tightening is putting additional pressure on government budgets.

World Bank, the

A woman farmer harvests wheat in Lahore, Pakistan

Research briefs

2 June 2023

New research suggests wheat crops may be threatened by unprecedented heat and drought

A new study from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University shows the likelihood of extreme weather in wheat-producing areas of the U.S. and China has increased significantly.

Tufts University

Woman carrying a basket walking through the sandy desert with her livestock.

Research briefs

1 June 2023

Danger in the dust! The hazards of windblown dust

Airborne dust not only causes disease, it also menaces transportation on land, sea, and air; disrupts renewable energy systems; transports pathogens and toxic substances; and poses many other hazards.

Eos - AGU

Community announcement

2 June 2023

2023 WIN DRR Leadership Awards nomination

The nominations for the 2023 WIN DRR Leadership Awards are now open!

Women's International Network for Disaster Risk Reduction (WIN DRR)

ANDI — a breathing, sweating, walking and shivering mannequin - is helping researchers understander heat stress

Update

1 June 2023

This mannequin sweats, and it's helping ASU researchers understand heat stress

By the year 2100, the U.S. will experience more frequent and intense heat waves, especially in Alaska and states located in the Southeast and Southwest.

Frontera

Documents and publications

2 June 2023

Disaster recovery planning: Explanatory note and case study

This publication outlines why post-disaster needs assessments (PDNA) should provide comprehensive details of the economic and social impacts of disasters on countries to swiftly mobilize resources and support resilient recovery.