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.

An old-fashioned thermometer in London showing the temperature at 40 C

Update

28 July 2022

Without human-caused climate change temperatures of 40°C in the UK would have been extremely unlikely

Scientists from multiple countries collaborated to assess to what extent human-induced climate change altered the likelihood and intensity of the exceptional heatwave affected large parts of the UK.

World Weather Attribution

The ash column generated by Mount Semeru's eruption in Java, Indonesia

Research briefs

28 July 2022

Reconstructing volcanic eruptions to help scientists predict climate risks: USask research

University of Saskatchewan researchers were part of the research team that developed an updated, more accurate reconstruction of volcanic eruptions that can help scientists understand future climate risks.

University of Saskatchewan

Women and child standing in front of a grocery shop in Madagascar

Update

28 July 2022

Women entrepreneurs in Africa face more climate risks than their male peers

The world’s climate is changing. All of us will ultimately be affected by climatic shifts, but women entrepreneurs are often more exposed to climate risk, and face additional adaptation barriers, making them highly susceptible.

Conversation Media Group, the

A group of Tour de France cyclists battling

Update

27 July 2022

Tour de France: future heatwaves may make it untenable to hold the race in July

As the men’s Tour de France wraps up and the women’s race begins, the European heat wave rages on. If you look closely, the heat can be seen in photos of the event: cooling towels, water splashed over red faces, ice packs under race jerseys.

Conversation Media Group, the

Tourists seek shade with umbrellas during a hot day in London

Update

26 July 2022

How likely would Britain’s 40°C heatwave have been without climate change?

Every heatwave occurring is made more likely and intense by human-caused climate change. Early estimates by the UK Met Office may be significant underestimates, as models have underrated increases in the occurrence of extreme heat events before.

Conversation Media Group, the

Research briefs

26 July 2022

Global warming of 2C could ‘double’ flooding costs in China compared to 1.5C

The study, published in the journal Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, estimates future flood risk across China under 1.5C and 2C of warming and its impact on people and wider society.

Carbon Brief

Street busy with people and traffic during the UK heatwave

Update

26 July 2022

Heatwaves: why ethnic minorities in the UK are more vulnerable, and what to do about it

There are stark racial inequalities in the distribution of heat vulnerability in the UK. Researchers at the University of Manchester recently identified Birmingham, Nottingham, Leicester, an several London boroughs as the most heat vulnerable communities.

Conversation Media Group, the

Update

22 July 2022

How heatwaves impact railways - and what might help

The UK’s rail service has been hit with widespread train delays and high levels of cancellations during the heatwave. The whole of the east coast line between Edinburgh and London was closed for hours on July 20 because of the heat.

Conversation Media Group, the

A woman carrying a baby and holding the hand of a boy, walking in a muddy street

Research briefs

21 July 2022

Extreme heat exposure worsens child malnutrition

Exposure to extreme heat increases both chronic and acute malnutrition among infants and young children in low-income countries – threatening to reverse decades of progress, Cornell research finds.

Cornell University

Update

21 July 2022

Making Yemen’s urban centers climate resilient

Discussing climate action in Yemen may seem untimely given the conflict, but the country is highly vulnerable to extreme weather and climate events. Water scarcity, flash floods, and sea-level rise are expected to increase as climate change accelerates.

World Bank, the