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.

Olive trees burn during a wildfire in Greece

Update

12 January 2023

Past eight years confirmed to be the eight warmest on record

The past eight years were the warmest on record globally, fueled by ever-rising greenhouse gas concentrations and accumulated heat, according to six leading international temperature datasets consolidated by the World Meteorological Organization.

World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

A lone house surrounded by floodwaters in Brisbane, Australia

Update

12 January 2023

Flooding in California: What went wrong, and what comes next

Battered by storm after storm, California is facing intense flooding, with at least 19 lives lost so far and nearly 100,000 people evacuated from their homes. And there’s no sign that the storms will be letting up soon.

Columbia Climate School

Update

6 January 2023

How can climate policy better address climate-driven population displacement?

Catherine Higham and Arnaud Koehl analyse the existing policy responses to climate migration worldwide, identifying a clear division in scope and ambition between wealthy and poorer countries.

London School of Economics and Political Science, the

Volunteers support reconstruction work in Macrohon after typhoon Rai

Update

11 January 2023

Ιn Iloilo City, Philippines, an inclusive housing program protects vulnerable communities from flood risks

Iloilo City’s Participatory Housing and Urban Development project demonstrates that it is possible to build resilient cities and homes while improving the quality-of-life for the urban poor.

World Resources Institute

Update

11 January 2023

Preparedness efforts for health threats: the gap between detection and action

The World Health Organisation (WHO) was highly criticised for its delay in declaring Covid-19 as a public health emergency of international concern via social media and a public investigation.

National Preparedness Commission

Damaged bridge after the floods in the Ahr valley in Germany in 2021.

Update

11 January 2023

Atmospheric rivers over California’s wildfire burn scars raise fears of deadly mudslides – this is what cascading climate disasters look like

Rivers of muddy water from heavy rainfall raced through city streets as thousands of people evacuated homes downhill from California’s wildfire burn scars amid atmospheric river storms drenching the state in early January 2023.

Conversation Media Group, the

Earth model with a thermometer in front.

Research briefs

10 January 2023

New tech to monitor climate change

Weather extremes have become more frequent and intensive since the 1950s, and international hydrology experts are using new technology to map land areas subject to hotter, dryer conditions under climate change.

Flinders University

Documents and publications

11 January 2023

Anticipatory action to manage climate risks: Lessons from the Red Cross Red Crescent in Southern Africa, Bangladesh, and beyond

This article identifies common benefits and challenges associated with anticipatory action (AA) programmes, finding that AA has built local Red Cross Red Crescent capacity, leading to more proactive operations and expedited humanitarian response.

Areal view of some islands in the Pacific

Update

9 January 2023

Why Pacific Islanders are staying put even as rising seas flood their homes and crops

Climate change is forcing people around the world to abandon their homes. In the Pacific Islands, rising sea levels are leaving communities facing tough decisions about relocation. Some are choosing to stay in high-risk areas.

Conversation Media Group, the

Adults and children walking through flooded streets in Pakistan

Update

9 January 2023

Co-Chairs Summary International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan

Co-hosted by the Government of Pakistan and the United Nations, the International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan took place on 9 January 2023, in Geneva, in the backdrop of the devastating floods in 2022.

United Nations - Headquarters