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 photo of two laughing children wearing traditional Mongolian dress in a field with cashmere goats

Update

25 October 2022

559 million children currently exposed to high heatwave frequency, rising to all 2.02 billion children globally by 2050

559 million children are currently exposed to high heatwave frequency, according to new research from UNICEF. Further 624 million children are exposed to one of three other high heat measures - high heatwave duration, severity or extreme high temperatures

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)

Documents and publications

26 October 2022

The 2022 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: health at the mercy of fossil fuels

This year’s report launches as countries and health systems grapple with the health, social and economic implications of climate change, which now compound the impacts of the the global energy crisis, and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Research briefs

24 October 2022

Growing plants on buildings can reduce heat and produce healthy food in African cities

Persistently high temperatures and related heat stress are a big problem for people living in cities, especially in slums and informal settlements. It’s a problem that is expected to continue.

Conversation Media Group, the

Research briefs

29 September 2022

Arctic sea ice loss leads to more frequent strong El Niño events

Over the last 40 years, a rapid shrinking of Arctic sea ice has been one of the most significant indicators of climate change. The amount of sea ice that survives the Arctic summer has declined 13 percent per decade since the late 1970s.

University at Albany

Update

24 October 2022

Some councils still rely on outdated paper maps as supercharged storms make a mockery of flood planning

Business-as-usual development continues despite extreme weather and sea-level rises due to climate change. While some local councils have online mapping, others are still using outdated paper maps.

Conversation Media Group, the

Waves and storm surge crash over Ocean Drive in Newport Rhode Island, USA

Update

22 October 2022

WMO issues guidelines on coastal flooding early warning systems

New WMO Guidelines on the Implementation of a Coastal Inundation Forecasting Early Warning System offer solid and practical advice for countries, donors and experts seeking to set up early warning systems against an increasing hazard.

World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

Documents and publications

24 October 2022

Hot cities, chilled economies: Impacts of extreme heat on global cities

This report assesses the social and economic effects of extreme heat through the prism of twelve cities that are already enduring and addressing dramatic impacts of heat waves.

Documents and publications

24 October 2022

Hydropower and Dams (H and D): Strengthening climate-informed project design

This learning note provides lessons and recommendations concerning the project design of hydropower and dams. The document includes a case study from Mozambique.

Research briefs

21 October 2022

What is the best predictor of landfalling hurricane damage?

A new study finds that the minimum sea level pressure, as another measure of hurricane strength, is a better predictor of hurricane damage in the United States than the maximum sustained wind speed.

AGU Advancing Earth and Space Science