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.

People carrying umbrellas to protect themselves from the sun and heat in the USA.

Research briefs

16 June 2022

Most major U.S. cities are underprepared for rising temperatures

UCLA-led analysis highlights gaps in municipal planning for often dangerous heat

University of California, Los Angeles

A weather station on the mountains of the Himalaya in Nepal.

Update

20 June 2022

Improving early warning in the remote Himalayas

In our first blog post as a member of HIF’s Journey to Scale 2021-2022 cohort, we introduced our innovation, DMS Himalaya, which enables remote and marginalised Himalayan communities to contribute to disaster management at the local level.

Enhancing Learning & Research for Humanitarian Assistance

Research briefs

17 June 2022

Study shows mangrove and reef restoration yield positive returns on investment for flood protection

A robust analysis demonstrates that nature-based solutions to reduce the damage caused by coastal flooding are cost-effective

University of California, Santa Cruz

Documents and publications

17 June 2022

The Caribbean: a region of excellence for urban climate resilience

This report projects the future of Caribbean urban infrastructure, and makes a case for the joint implementation of ecosystem-based and structural adaptation responses to reduce adaptation costs.

Update

17 June 2022

How climate change is turning remote Indigenous houses into dangerous hot boxes

In parts of Australia that are already very hot, climate change is driving inequities even further – in housing, energy security and health.

Conversation Media Group, the

Moroccan farmer overlooking his heard of sheep on his fields.

Update

17 June 2022

How water-smart agricultural solutions can help us stall desertification and thrive in the face of future droughts

A recent study reveals that for the sixth time, a new planetary boundary has been crossed: As a result of human activities, changes to the Earth’s freshwater cycle are now exceeding what scientists consider ‘safe limits.’

International Water Management Institute (IWMI)

Thunderstorm over fields in South Africa.

Update

16 June 2022

Severe storms expose ill-equipped weather stations in Southeast Africa

The lack of infrastructure is preventing scientists from robustly reporting meteorological information as well as communicating warnings about hazard-prone areas.

Eos - AGU

Update

15 June 2022

As a heat wave grips the US, lessons from the hottest city in America

Summer is becoming unbearable. Phoenix holds solutions on how to cope.

Grist Magazine

Research briefs

15 June 2022

Inadequate charging networks could thwart electric vehicle adoption goals

Shocks to parts of electric vehicle (EV) charging networks can have significant and unexpected ripple effects, which could undermine public confidence in the support infrastructure and hence usability of EVs, derailing efforts to increase adoption.

National University of Singapore

Update

15 June 2022

Inspired by palm trees, scientists develop hurricane-resilient wind turbines

Wind technology is growing—literally. Today’s offshore wind turbines can tower more than 490 feet above ground, their spinning blades churning out up to 8 megawatts (MW) each—about enough to power 4000 homes in the U.S.

University of Colorado Boulder