Data for Disaster Risk Reduction Episode two: Coordination and data management for response to recovery 
In 2021, Emergency Event Database, the global database on disasters, recorded 432 events related to natural hazards worldwide. The first episode of the podcast series on Data for Disaster Risk Reduction explores data-driven response and recovery, data coordination, management, and required resources and infrastructure. Insights into policies to be adopted to use technology for better disaster prediction.
The episode has Yan Wang, Data Stewardship Coordinator at Delft University of Technology, Netherlands and Bapon Fakhruddin, Technical Director, Tonkin and Taylor, New Zealand.

WRAPUP 2-Western Europeans pant in early summer heatwave compounding climate change fears
With temperatures reaching 40 in France and Spain, Mediterranean nations are more and more worried about how climate change may affect their economies and lives.

Improving early warnings in the Caribbean, Pacific and Southeast Asia
A successful six-year, 10 million Canadian dollar project, funded by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), has strengthened the quality and availability of impact-based forecasts and services to support communities in Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, and the Pacific.

What’s Causing the Devastating Floods in China, India, and Bangladesh?
In central and southern China, tens of thousands of people have been forced to evacuate their homes due to flooding from extreme rainfall. Mingfang Ting, a research professor at Columbia Climate School’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, studies precipitation extremes. She pointed to several large-scale climatic conditions that could be contributing to the intense rainfall in China and South Asia.

Tsunami resilience: UNESCO will train 100% of at-risk coastal communities by 2030
At the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon, Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO will announce a new global programme to ensure 100% of coastal communities will be “Tsunami Ready” by 2030. Other conference highlights include the designation of Maya Gabeira, the Brazilian surfer, as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador.

Temperature records tumble in an early, intense heatwave
An unusually early and intense heatwave spread up from North Africa through Europe ahead of the Summer Solstice, bringing temperatures more typical of those witnessed in July or August. In some parts of Spain and France, temperatures are more than 10°C higher than the average for this time of year, breaking many monthly records. This is combined with drought in many parts of Europe.

Saving lives with FAIR data: evidence-based public policies and the impact of data in disaster and climate change risk management
Informed decision-making and coordinated action for effective disaster and climate change risk reduction require timely and reliable data and information. Technological advances enable us to better understand nature and society. However, despite these advances, challenges remain for Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR) data for decision-making. The COVID-19 pandemic is a good example of how data FAIRness saved lives. It is necessary to identify what challenges the government, non-governmental organisations, and policy users face in FAIRness of data.

Minimising waste to reduce emissions: how do we turn waste into action
The NZ Emissions Reduction Plan released in early May 2022 sets out how the Government plans to deliver on the first three emissions budgets until 2035. It’s a step towards taking climate action – it’s now over to businesses, councils and industry to walk the walk and turn plans into a reality. Listen to the recording of this webinar where experts from T+T and Movac discuss, the opportunity for businesses to lead the charge using circular economy principles to reduce emissions, and resource efficiency = avoid wastage. Materials recovery and the potential investment opportunities for businesses and the shift from linear to the circular economy and the impacts and opportunities for your organisation.

Heatwaves: Addressing a sweltering risk in Asia-Pacific
The last decade was the warmest on record, and leading organisations on climate change indicate that warmer temperatures are not a potential threat but a surety. This report considers ways in which disaster risk reduction (DRR), climate change adaptation (CCA), and related scientific communities can rise to data challenges in order to provide policymakers with the evidence needed to set priorities and make decisions. Given the sizeable threat posed by extreme heat events, the report details the human impacts of heat waves, ranging from individual and community health to the built environment.

Disaster risk resilience: conceptual evolution, key issues and opportunities
This paper presents a selection of 25 components used to define resilience, and an interesting linkage emerges between these components and the dimensions of risk management (prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery), offering a perspective to strengthen resilience through the development of capacities. Despite its potential, resilience is subject to challenges regarding its operationalization, effectiveness, measurement, credibility, equity, and even its nature. Nevertheless, it offers applicability and opportunities for local communities as well as an interdisciplinary look at global challenges.

Real-time evaluation of Fao’s Response to the Desert Locust upsurge 2020-2021
FAO’s Office of Evaluation conducted a real-time evaluation across three phases spread over one year. Each phase covered specific aspects of the response: Phase I focused on leadership, management and coordination of the response and was conducted between June to October 2020. Phase II focused on results as well as management and operations at the country level. Phase III drew lessons for future operations and FAO’s work on Desert Locust in the Region.

Gender-responsive national adaptation plan Processes: progress and promising examples
This document is the third in a series of synthesis reports that assess progress on gender-responsive approaches in National Adaptation Plan (NAP) processes at the global level. It coincides with the midpoint of the Gender Action Plan under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), making this a good moment to reflect on progress in integrating gender considerations in NAP processes.

Soil drought can mitigate deadly heat stress thanks to a reduction in air humidity
This article investigates the relationship between dry soils and heatwave lethality. Recent heatwaves often coincided with soil droughts that intensify air temperature but lower air humidity. Since lowering air humidity may reduce human heat stress, the net impact of soil desiccation on the morbidity and mortality of heatwaves remains unclear.

HLPF Side Event: A Risk-Informed Approach to Development in a COVID-19 Transformed World
The 2022 High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development will be held on 5-15 July 2022, under the theme of “Building back better from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) while advancing the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” which will feature thematic reviews of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 4 on quality education, 5 on gender equality, 14 on life below water, 15 on life on land and 17 on partnerships for the Goals. A series of side events will convene on the margins of the HLPF, under the auspices of the ECOSOC.

VNR Lab: Applying the Sendai Framework to fast-track the 2030 Agenda through a risk-informed approach
The Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) are inclusive reviews of progress at national levels, towards the Sustainable Development Goals, each year at the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) for Sustainable Development. They aim to facilitate the sharing of experiences, including successes, challenges and lessons learned, with a view to accelerating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

International Data Week – A festival of data 23-26 October Salzburg
Save the date!
The International Science Council’s Committee on Data (CODATA) and World Data System (WDS), and the Research Data Alliance (RDA) are delighted to announce International Data Week 2023: A Festival of Data, taking place on 23–26 October 2023, in Salzburg, Austria.

GPDRR2022- Co-Chairs’ Summary: Bali Agenda for Resilience
The seventh session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction took place from 25 to 27 May 2022 in Bali, Indonesia. It was co-chaired by H.E. Prof. Muhadjir Effendy, Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Cultural Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, and Ms. Mami Mizutori, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction. Organized in a hybrid format, the Global Platform had over 4000 participants from a total of 185 countries.

Investing in resilient infrastructure for a better future
Day-to-day life depends on infrastructure and its services. This includes supply chains, electricity, water and sanitation, and information networks. But in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and increasingly extreme weather events, these systems are under increasing threat. In December 2020, Cyclone Yasa, a single event, caused around USD 1.4 billion in damage to health facilities, homes, schools, and other critical infrastructure in the Pacific island nation of Fiji. Beyond the economic toll, there was immeasurable disruption to people’s lives due to downed systems, extending the duration of the disaster beyond the passing of the cyclone.

The climate Risk and Early Warning Systems initiative brings a message of hope
In a year overshadowed by the COVID-19 pandemic and its socio-economic fallout, 2021 nevertheless saw progress towards strengthening early warning services and building resilience to extreme weather and climate change impacts in some of the world’s most vulnerable countries. This is one of the critical messages of the 2021 Annual Report of the Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems Initiative (CREWS). This unique climate action programme helps save lives, livelihoods and assets in the world’s most vulnerable countries.

Building the evidence for more effective disaster risk reduction
After a long hiatus due to the COVID crisis, governments have come together in Bali last week to discuss progress on implementing the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. Organised by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and hosted by the Government of Indonesia, the seventh session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction comes at a crucial time. While countries struggle to address the compounded threats of food, fuel and financial insecurity amid a pandemic, many must also still contend with the threat of natural hazards and the terrible costs they exact.

A new study of the relationship between climate change and socio-economic tipping points
Climate change can cause sudden socio-economic tipping points, such as large-scale bankruptcies of low-lying ski resorts, the collapse of house prices due to sea-level rise, or the extensive disruption of the road network due to flooding. Kees van Ginkel (Deltares) spent four years researching tipping points of this kind. He will present the results, which have been published in various journals, at a scientific conference in Vienna (EGU) this week.

Policy Brief: Harnessing data to accelerate the transition from disaster response to recovery
The CODATA Task Group on FAIR Data for Disaster Risk Research has produced a Policy Brief as input to the seventh session of the Global Platform (GP2022), organised by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) from 23 to 28 May 2022, in Bali, Indonesia. This policy brief was published alongside two ISC policy briefs on the same occasion.

Data For Disaster Risk Reduction podcast series –  Data-Driven Dynamics for Resilience Podcast
Data for Disaster Risk Reduction

Principles for resilient infrastructure
The Principles for Resilient Infrastructure describe a set of principles, key actions, and guidelines to create national scale net resilience gain and improve the continuity of critical services such as energy, transport, water, wastewater, waste, and digital communications, which enable health, education, etc. to function effectively.

Technical Guidance on Comprehensive Risk Assessment and Planning in the Context of Climate Change
Climate change is increasing the magnitude, frequency, duration and severity of climate-related hazards, leading to complex and cascading risks that make people and systems more vulnerable today in years to come. A comprehensive understanding of risks is thus a priority. This document is also a pivotal contribution to the Plan of Action of the Technical Expert Group on Comprehensive Risk Management of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage associated with Climate Change Impacts.

Closing the Gap between Science and Practice at Local Levels to Accelerate Disaster Risk Reduction
This policy brief analyses the existing gap between science and technology (S&T) and its incorporation into disaster risk management at local levels.

The road to COP27: Making Africa’s case in the climate debate
This study explores the potential impacts of compounding risk between natural hazards and infectious disease outbreaks, such as the recent COVID-19 pandemic in the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) region. Compound risk occurs when two or more shock events overlap, inducing additional pressure on social and physical vulnerabilities. As part of the study, scenarios of a natural hazard occurring during an outbreak are created for each CAREC country.

Projecting the effects of climate change on the informed risk index
This contributing paper presents an extension of the INFORM Risk Index, a global indicator-based disaster risk assessment tool. By using projections of exposure to climate change hazards to provide better insights for policymakers on the threats imposed by climate change and the extent to the amplified risks can be compensated by reduced vulnerability and increased adaptive capacity measures.

Webinar: Inside the NZ Emissions Reduction Plan – June 2
The NZ Emissions Reduction Plan, released on Monday, 16 May contains strategies, policies, and actions to achieve our first emissions budget as required by the Climate Change Response Act 2002. Climate Change Minister Hon James Shaw says that the plan ‘will require nearly every part of Government to act to reduce emissions right across the country.’ It’s being touted as a major step towards taking tangible climate action, requiring big changes. If you’re interested in discussing with us and others what these changes may mean for your organisation and how to best respond: I will be joined by T+T Technical Director – Climate and Resilience James Hughes and Chapman Tripp’s climate regulatory and risk experts Alana Lampitt and Nicola Swan to host an interactive online session on Thursday 2 June to unpack the Emissions Reduction Plan and field any questions on how to tackle emissions reduction.

WorldFAIR – Global cooperation on FAIR data policy and practice – June 20 
The major global scientific and human challenges of the 21st century (including climate change, sustainable development, and disaster risk reduction) can only be addressed through cross-domain research that seeks to understand complex systems through machine-assisted analysis at scale. WorldFAIR project comprises a genuinely global consortium and 11 case studies in a range of research fields.  The objective of each case study is to unpack the research questions, characterise the data requirements and develop an interoperability framework for their discipline or interdisciplinary research area. This is done in cooperation with CODATA and the Research Data Alliance, organisations that have developed recommendations and technical frameworks to assist with interoperability on various levels.

International Data Week 2022 – 20-23rd June 
International Data Week (IDW) is a landmark event organised by the Committee on Data (CODATA) and the World Data System (WDS) of the International Science Council (ISC), and the Research Data Alliance (RDA).
It brings together data scientists, researchers, industry leaders, entrepreneurs, policymakers and data stewards from disciplines across the globe to explore how best to exploit the data revolution to improve science and society through data-driven discovery and innovation.  IDW combines the RDA Plenary Meeting, the biannual meeting of this international membership organisation working to develop and support global infrastructure facilitating data sharing and reuse, and SciDataCon, the scientific conference addressing the frontiers of data in research organised by CODATA and WDS.

Sea levels rising twice as fast as thought in New Zealand
Explosive new data shows the sea level is rising twice as fast as previously thought in some parts of Aotearoa, massively reducing the number of times authorities has to respond. The major new projections show infrastructure and homes in Auckland and Wellington – as well as many other places – risk inundation decades earlier than expected.

Risk Data Hub, a renewed space to support EU countries with disaster prevention and preparedness
More than 2400 disastrous events related to natural hazards have struck Europe in the last 30 years. The Risk Data Hub (RDH) hosts resources to help authorities manage risks and justify financial support requests to cope with these major events. The ultimate goal of this comprehensive hub is to offer data to help improve risk assessments in the stages before, during and after a disaster hits Europe.

Addressing food security and climate change through regenerative agriculture
One of the significant challenges that Bangladesh faces is ensuring food security for a growing population. The most viable and holistic solution to this problem is regenerative agriculture. Regenerative agriculture is a farming system that attempts to conserve soil and contribute to multiple provisioning, regulating and supporting services of the ecosystem and aims to enhance the environmental, social and economic sustainability of food production.

After the relentless rain, South Africa sounds the alarm on the climate crisis
Survivors of South Africa’s devastating floods have described “sheet upon sheet of relentless rain” that washed away entire houses, bridges and roads, killing about 450 people and making thousands homeless. The storm, which delivered close to an entire year’s usual rainfall in 48 hours, took meteorologists by surprise and has been blamed by experts on climate change. The new disaster comes after three tropical cyclones and two tropical storms hit southeast Africa in just six weeks in the first months of this year.

Risk insurance builds climate and disaster resilience in Central America and the Caribbean
Drought-monitoring technology that is currently being embedded in water and agricultural ministries in Jordan, Lebanon, and Morocco will now be implemented in Tunisia. The satellite-based enhanced composite drought index (eCDI) supports effective drought management by enabling authorities to identify, early on, the presence and evolution of drought.

Empowering people to adapt on the frontlines of climate change
A new platform will unite climate models, impact predictions, random control trial evaluations, and humanitarian services to bring cutting-edge tools to Bangladeshi communities.

Technical Guidance on Comprehensive Risk Assessment and Planning in the Context of Climate Change
The Technical Guidance on Comprehensive Risk Assessment and Planning in the Context of Climate Change provides orientation on how risks in the context of climate change can be comprehensively and systemically addressed through risk assessment. Decision-making, planning, and integrating disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA) perspectives and approaches while simultaneously linking to other goals and targets (e.g. the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)) are also discussed.

Global Risk Assessment Report 2022 (GAR2022)
GAR2022 explores how, around the world, structures are evolving to better address systemic risk. The report shows how governance systems can evolve to reflect the interconnected value of people, the planet and prosperity.

Financing for Sustainable Development Report 2022
The study of flood risk perception factors can be considered by using different paradigms. In an attempt to understand risk perception, two basic paradigms can be distinguished: rationalist and constructivist. This review paper aims to assess the importance of the rationalist and constructivist approaches in research on flood risk perception and flood risk management more broadly.

The United Nations World Water Development Report 2022: groundwater: making the invisible visible
This brief explores key improvements in data delivered by SHEAR projects. The SHEAR programme (Science for Humanitarian Emergencies and Resilience) carried out innovative research, in some of the most hazard-prone parts of the world, to better understand and forecast disasters, and minimize the risk they pose to vulnerable communities.

Compound risk analysis of natural hazards and infectious disease outbreaks
This study explores the potential impacts of compounding risk between natural hazards and infectious disease outbreaks such as the recent COVID-19 pandemic in the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) region. Compound risk occurs when two or more shock events overlap, inducing additional pressure on social and physical vulnerabilities. As part of the study, scenarios of a natural hazard occurring during an outbreak are created for each CAREC country.

The Third Multi-Hazard Early Warning Conference – 23-24 May
As we approach the mid-point of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, MHEWC-III provides a unique opportunity to review key accomplishments, and share skills, experience, and expertise within an active network of early warning practitioners.

Seventh Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GP2022)- 23 to 28 May
The Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction is the main global forum to assess and discuss progress on the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. The seventh session of the Global Platform (GP2022) will be organized by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) from 23 to 28 May 2022, in Bali, Indonesia, hosted by the Government of Indonesia. The event will be co-chaired by the Government of Indonesia and UNDRR.

Geo Virtual Symposium – Global action for local impact – 2-5^th May
With the theme ‘Global Action for Local Impact’, the GEO Virtual Symposium 2022 will explore how the portfolio of GEO products and services can provide insights and evidence for policy development and decision making, which is expected to lead to local impact over time. The symposium will foster dialogue among local stakeholders, GEO Work Programme (GWP) activities and other partners to discuss transversal environmental and societal issues, and identify potential integrative EO-based solutions in selected regions.

Call for paper Special Issue “Post-disaster Recovery and Climate Change Adaptation – an Asia-Pacific Perspective”
This Special Issue aims to present a platform for the exchange of the latest research and practices in post-disaster recovery and climate change adaptation in the Asia-Pacific region. Themes of particular interest include reasons for current inadequacies and context-specific challenges contributing to failed recovery and adaptation in the region, lessons learnt from past disaster experiences, innovative post-disaster reconstruction and recovery practices, and sustainable and practical solutions for adapting to climate change that is applicable to the Asia-Pacific region. We are seeking articles duly addressing environmental, cultural, economic and social aspects of post-disaster recovery and climate change adaptation within the scope of Sustainability.

Floods and other secondary perils: opportunity or threat for the industry?
18 May 2022
The Swiss Re Institute’s annual Natural Catastrophe sigma has become the benchmark in documenting the human and financial impact of disasters. The report compares these losses to prior years and historical averages to put the year in perspective. This hybrid event will look at the main natural catastrophe loss drivers for 2021 and how the year stacks up against others. We’ll take a deeper dive into flood risk and what the insurance industry can do to help build societal resilience in the face of increasing secondary perils.

The World Reconstruction Conference- 23-24 May 2022
The World Reconstruction Conference is a global forum that provides a platform to collect, assess, and share disaster reconstruction and recovery experiences and take forward the policy dialogue for effective international disaster recovery and reconstruction framework.