The explosion of data offers new ways to understand the economy—and change what gets measured, not just how.
Digital technologies are redefining how we see and manage the global economy. As Kenneth Cukier writes in Finance & Development, the earth is developing a “digital nervous system” through satellites, sensors, and AI that measure everything from deforestation and traffic to crop yields and emissions. These vast data streams give policymakers and businesses an almost live view of the planet’s condition—a continuous “heartbeat” of global activity. But Cukier notes that the benefits come with risks: interpreting billions of signals at once requires new rules of governance, privacy, and judgment to ensure that data enlightens decision‑making rather than distorts it.
What is the global water cycle and how is it amplifying climate disasters?
In the past few days, hundreds of bushfires have ignited in south-east Australia during an extreme heatwave. And communities in north Queensland have been lashed by heavy rain and flash flooding from ex-tropical Cyclone Koji. This is the seventh cyclone so far this season.
Behind these disasters is a deeper and less visible influence: ongoing shifts in the global water cycle. Our latest report shows how changes in rainfall, air temperature and humidity combined to amplify water-related disasters across the world in 2025.
These floods and fires are not simply isolated weather extremes, but signs of a water cycle that is being increasingly destabilised by global warming. The result: more volatile floods, droughts, and fires shaping new extremes worldwide.
CRAF’d drives faster, more targeted, and more dignified crisis action. Since inception, partners have committed over $40 million to crisis data, analytics, and AI, advancing the Fund’s mission to finance, connect, and reimagine data that saves lives. CRAF’d-funded data and insights help shape over $12 billion in emergency funding each year, with more than 96,000 users across 390 organizations using them to anticipate risks, prevent impacts, and respond when crises strike.
Major river delts are sinking faster than sea-level rise
A new global study led by Virginia Tech and published in Nature finds human-driven land subsidence now outpacing sea-level rise in many of the planet’s major river deltas. More than 236 million people live on these sinking floodplains, where water extraction, urban development, and sediment loss are driving the ground downward.
The findings warn of a growing coastal vulnerability, from the Mekong to the Mississippi, as deltas lose their natural elevation buffer faster than climate change lifts the seas.
Inside new science exposing how humidity can escalate a heat wave
When Floridians talk about extreme weather, hurricanes dominate the conversation. Each season brings updates on storm tracks, cone predictions and wind speeds, all in the hopes of predicting the unpredictable. But a quieter, more deceptive threat is already reshaping the way people live and work in the Sunshine State: extreme heat.
“Heat waves actually kill more people in the U.S. than hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, or any other form of extreme weather,” said David Keellings, Ph.D., associate professor of geography. “The Centers for Disease Control attribute over a thousand deaths annually to hyperthermia, but that number is probably really underestimated considering subsequent complications of dehydration, heat exhaustion and heat stroke.”
The invisible costs of wildfire disasters in 2025
Wildfires burned through 390 million hectares in 2025 – equivalent to 92% of the European Union’s land area – yet the costliest event of the year, the January fires in and around Los Angeles, burned just 23,000 hectares while causing more than USD 53 billion in damage.
In 2025 the total cost of damages caused by natural hazards has been calculated at USD 224 billion, of which USD 108 billion was insured, according to the global reinsurance company Munich Re. UNDRR highlights that the non‑financial costs—including damage to health, livelihoods, and ecosystems—greatly extend the human toll of wildfire disasters and call for stronger systemic responses worldwide.
A Commentary from the CODATA TG FAIR-DRR has just been published in Frontiers in Public Health. This commentary examines how FAIR data principles can improve research quality and impact. It aligns with the Task Group’s mission to break down data silos and build a harmonised data ecosystem for disaster risk reduction. The authors illustrate the importance of rigorous, transparent data practices in driving reliable findings. “It demonstrates how methodological compromises and insufficiently justified analytic choices can produce imprecise or potentially misleading findings,” the commentary notes, underlining why embracing FAIR principles is crucial for credible research and beyond.
Bridging the €6.5 Trillion Water Infrastructure Gap: A Playbook
Water infrastructure lies at the centre of the world’s economic and climate resilience. To deliver equitable, resilient, sustainable and technologically advanced drinking water and sanitation systems for all, global spending will need to double by 2040. The total investment required amounts to €11.4 trillion ($13.2 trillion), revealing a financing gap of about €6.5 trillion compared with current trajectories. Bridging this gap could generate €8.4 trillion in additional GDP and support more than 206 million full-time jobs worldwide by 2040, equivalent to 14 million jobs each year.
The new insights report outlines how water infrastructure can become a catalyst for sustainable growth and resilience through coherent policy, innovative finance and collaboration.
Adaptation Fund Climate Innovation Accelerator Impact Report 2020-2025
The UNDP-Adaptation Fund Climate Innovation Accelerator (AFCIA) Impact Report captures five years of locally led innovation, community leadership and resilience-building across the Global South. Since 2020, UNDP-AFCIA has supported 44 locally rooted initiatives in 33 countries with US$8.3 million in grants and an additional $6 million in technical assistance, reaching more than 2.6 million people.
This report showcases how small, flexible grants—paired with technical support, business coaching and investment brokering—can unlock powerful change. 59 percent of supported organizations now generate revenue, 14 percent created entirely new markets and many turned early-stage ideas into viable models for scale. Communities restored over 29,000 hectares of land, improved livelihoods for more than 21,700 households, piloted 12 new climate innovations—from Indigenous seed banks to floating farms.
Rapid urbanization worldwide is creating significant environmental, social, and economic challenges. Cities face greater exposure to extreme weather, climate impacts, pollution, poverty, shrinking green spaces, and heightened risks to lives, livelihoods, and assets. As these risks intensify, national and local governments must collaborate to strengthen urban livability and resilience through risk‑informed planning. This handbook defines livable, resilient cities as urban areas that promote green growth, social inclusion, resilient built environments, and shared prosperity. It emphasizes preventing and reducing the impacts of natural hazards and climate change. In such cities, planned and sustainable growth ensures access to healthy environments, affordable housing, basic services, jobs, and low‑carbon transport and economic opportunities.
Cities need an integrated and holistic approach to health adaptation in climate planning
Despite clear links between climate impacts and public health, barriers to implementing health adaptation persist, and stronger city‑level commitment is needed. We reviewed 55 city climate adaptation plans (2016–2024) for health comprehensiveness, dimensions of health, equity and vulnerability, and implementation readiness. We found that 20% of cities did not meaningfully include health; 29% acknowledged climate‑related health impacts but lacked health‑focused strategies; 40% included some health‑related adaptation; and 11% had health‑specific strategies, yet none met our definition of a prioritized, holistic approach. Only six cities—Chennai, Dar es Salaam, Delhi, Salvador, Singapore and Tshwane—had comprehensive interventions beyond heat and air pollution. Mental health, social capital, equity and justice are frequently overlooked. Our analysis shows that the awareness of health impacts is prevalent at the city level, but the integration of holistic health strategies in adaptation plans still lags.
Traditional natural disaster response requires coordinated teamwork, where speed and efficiency are essential. However, human limitations can delay critical actions and increase human and economic losses. Agentic Large Vision Language Models (LVLMs) offer a way to address this challenge, with potential for significant socio‑economic impact, particularly by improving resilience and resource access in underdeveloped regions. We introduce DisasTeller, a multi‑LVLM framework that automates post‑disaster tasks such as on‑site assessment, emergency alerts, resource allocation, and recovery planning. By coordinating four specialised LVLM agents with GPT‑4 as the core, DisasTeller accelerates disaster response, reduces human execution time, and structures information flow. Our evaluation highlights both benefits and challenges, emphasising the need for human validation to prevent error propagation and ensure trustworthy deployment.
Women in scientific organizations: global evidence from science academies and unions
On the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, the International Science Council, the InterAcademy Partnership and the Standing Committee for Gender Equality in Science will present the findings of their new global study on gender equality in scientific organizations.
The study examines how women access, participate in, lead, and are recognized within science academies, academies of engineering and medicine, and international disciplinary unions worldwide. It draws on institutional data from 136 scientific organizations, survey responses from nearly 650 scientists, and targeted qualitative interviews to analyse both formal structures and lived experiences shaping participation and leadership.
Date and time: 11 Feb 2026, 2-4pm UTC
The three‑part course “Disaster Forensic Investigations – Uncovering Root Causes and Drivers of Disaster Risk and Disasters”, developed by UNDRR and partners, provides an essential overview of disaster forensics and its role in supporting resilient, risk‑reducing decisions and effective development policy. As disasters grow in frequency and severity, understanding the social, economic and institutional processes that generate risk is critical. Disaster forensics helps uncover these underlying dynamics and guides transformation toward sustainable and equitable development. Its analytical approach can significantly inform new development initiatives and strengthen post‑disaster recovery and reconstruction efforts.
Date and Time (London time): 3 Feb 2026, 02:00 PM, 10 Feb 2026, 02:00 PM, 17 Feb 2026, 02:00 PM
WWRP Weather and Society Conference 2026
Extreme hydrometeorological events affect society, economies and the environment as never before in human history. Government agencies, science and decision makers face an unprecedented extreme event management challenge to reduce risks to citizens.
The World Weather Research Programme’s Working Group on Societal and Economic Research Applications (SERA) will host the 3rd “Weather and Society” Conference. The event brings together leading researchers, practitioners, and stakeholders to explore the critical intersection of meteorological science and societal applications.
Date (Europe/ London): 23 Feb 2026 – 27 Feb 2026
The World Impact Summit 2026 will cover themes including (1) Agriculture, Food, & Health, (2) Construction, development, sustainable cities and territories, (3) Circular economy & recycling, (4) Energy, transport, & mobility, (5) Financing & sustainability, (6) Training, integration, employment and socialites, (7) Green industry & decarbonisation, (8) Digital, data and responsible AI, (9) Natural Resources, Environment & Biodiversity.
The Summit is a place to discover concrete testimonials from companies and communities that are successfully transitioning, share and co-create innovative solutions adapted to your challenges, and participate in immersive workshops that turn your ideas into tangible actions.
Date: 5 – 6 Feb 2026 | Where: Paris, Grande Halle de la Villette
