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.

Australian native performing traditional ritual with fire.

Update

28 August 2023

Indigenous rangers are burning the desert the right way – to stop the wrong kind of intense fires from raging

Even though it’s still winter, the fire season has already started in Australia’s arid centre. About half of the Tjoritja West MacDonnell National Park west of Alice Springs has burnt this year.

Conversation Media Group, the

Update

28 August 2023

Seville turns to 1,000-year-old technology to cool public spaces

The steaming hot city of Seville, Spain is turning to an ancient form of architecture to protect citizens from the modern extreme heat brought on by climate change.

The Energy Mix

People take bath to keep them self cool from heat wave

Research briefs

24 August 2023

Risk of heat-related deaths has ‘increased rapidly’ over past 20 years

Spikes in temperature-related deaths during extreme summer heatwaves “will eventually become commonplace” if societies do not adapt to the dangerous impacts of extreme heat, new research finds.

Carbon Brief

Update

24 August 2023

How China’s mountain farmers are coping with climate change

Rural communities, often led by women, are using seed banks and traditional techniques to boost local crop diversity and food security

China Dialogue

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

Research briefs

23 August 2023

New modeling method helps to understand extreme heat waves

To prepare for extreme heat waves around the world – particularly in places known for cool summers – climate-simulation models that include a new computing concept may save tens of thousands of lives.

Cornell University

Research briefs

23 August 2023

Child health vulnerability in Burkina Faso: The impacts of climate change

A study led by CMCC highlights how climate change exacerbates threats to child health in Burkina Faso, emphasizing the need for effective and urgent adaptive measures, to prevent worsening impacts and support sustainable development.

Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici

African women carrying water back to their villages.

Update

23 August 2023

Drought resilience pays off: up to tenfold return on investment

A new policy brief demonstrates that enhancing resilience is one of the most cost-effective actions countries can take, and is typically far less expensive than interventions focused on responding to the impacts of droughts.

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)

Block chain network and programming concept on technology background

Research briefs

23 August 2023

Leveraging blockchain technology for crisis management

In the aftermath of climactic disasters, questions can often be raised that scrutinize the response from government authorities in aiding those affected. Taken from their research, the authors explore the role of blockchains in disaster management.

London School of Economics and Political Science, the

Digital thermometer showing a high temperature in a town

Update

22 August 2023

New test chamber created to find better ways to keep people cool

A shipping container that can test passive cooling systems could help researchers and builders find carbon-free ways to keep people cool in extreme temperatures.

Washington State University

Houses with wildfire smoke in the background

Update

22 August 2023

Living with wildfire: How to protect more homes as fire risk rises in a warming climate

The relationship between climate and wildfire is fairly simple: Higher temperatures lead to more fire. Higher temperatures increase moisture evaporation, drying out plants and soil and making them more likely to burn.

Conversation Media Group, the