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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.

Shiveluch Volcano
Research briefs

Monitoring “frothy” magma gases could help evade disaster

Researchers have found that the composition of specific gases released from volcanic fumaroles (gaps in the Earth’s surface) can provide an indicator of what is happening to the magma deep below, and could forewarn of increased volcanic activity.
University of Tokyo
Flag with COp27 logo.
Update

COP27 closes with deal on loss and damage: ‘A step towards justice’, says UN chief

After days of intense negotiations, countries at the latest UN Climate Change Conference, COP27, reached agreement on an outcome that established a funding mechanism to compensate vulnerable nations for ‘loss and damage’ from climate-induced disasters.
United Nations News Centre
Big crack in a road following an earthquake.
Research briefs

Detecting smaller earthquakes could improve forecasting of larger temblors

Using machine learning techniques on ten years of seismic data from Oklahoma and Kansas, researchers identified faults that could generate large earthquakes.
Temblor
North Devon cliffs
Research briefs

Sea level rise to dramatically speed up erosion of rock coastlines by 2100

A new study shows that rock coasts, traditionally thought of as stable compared to sandy coasts and soft cliffs, are likely to retreat at a rate not seen for 3,000-5,000 years.
Imperial College London
Mozambique - aftermath of Tropical Cyclone Idai, 2021
Feature

Early warnings for all of Africa

Africa is particularly vulnerable to climate-related disasters, and will benefit greatly from the UN Secretary-General's plan for Early Warnings for All. To cover all of the continent will take a huge effort, but the first steps have already been taken.
United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)
Kayalitsha, South Africa
Update

Beating the heat in South African cities: Lessons from a citizen science assessment

Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni city leaders engaged local residents in a citizen science campaign to map exactly which neighborhoods face the brunt of rising temperatures. The study shows how heat relates to historical legacies and future challenges.
World Bank, the
Highway with cars rushing over it at night.
Update

Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure partners with Taylor & Francis to connect policymakers and practitioners with the latest research

New CDRI-Sponsored Open Access Special Issue of Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure Launched at COP27
Taylor and Francis
Woman walking through the flooded street in Nigeria with a yellow rain cape.
Research briefs

Climate change exacerbated heavy rainfall leading to large scale flooding in highly vulnerable communities in West Africa

From May until October 2022, large parts of West Africa experienced large-scale flooding caused by above average seasonal rainfall and water management.
World Weather Attribution
Brain disease diagnosis with medical doctor seeing Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) film diagnose.
Research briefs

Are climate change and air pollution making neurologic diseases worse?

People with neurologic diseases like headache, dementia, multiple sclerosis (MS) and Parkinson’s disease may experience worsening symptoms due to climate change, according to a scoping review of research.
American Academy of Neurology
Thunderstorm over fields in South Africa.
Research briefs

Which weather characteristics affect agricultural and food trade the most?

Changing weather patterns have profound impacts on agricultural production around the world. Higher temperatures, severe drought, and other weather events may decrease output in some regions but effects are often volatile and unpredictable.
University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
illustration
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