Novel platform empowers cities to build climate resilience and adaptation
More than 70 % of Europe’s urban population faces the growing challenges of climate change, from air pollution to flash floods. EU-funded researchers are developing a revolutionary platform to visualise these impacts and evaluate the effectiveness of city responses.
The EU-funded HARMONIA project is a Europe-wide collaboration comprising universities, research institutes, small- and medium-sized enterprises and non-governmental organisations in four pilot cities: Ixelles, Milan, Piraeus and Sofia.
Green climate fund approves WFP’s US$ 9.8 million project to build climate resilience in Pakistan
Islamabad – The Green Climate Fund (GCF) has approved a US$ 9.8 million climate risk management initiative aimed at strengthening resilience to extreme climate in flood-prone districts in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, to be implemented by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in collaboration with the Government of Pakistan.
The latest data confirms: Forest fires are getting worse
The latest data on forest fires confirms what we’ve long feared: Forest fires are becoming more widespread, burning at least twice as much tree cover today as they did two decades ago. Fire is also making up a larger share of global tree cover loss compared to other drivers like mining and forestry. While fires only accounted for about 20% of all tree cover loss in 2001, they now account for roughly 33%. This increase in fire activity has been starkly visible in recent years.
Japan’s magnitude 7.1 shock triggers megaquake warning. How likely is this scenario?
On 8 August 2024, a magnitude 7.1 shock struck at a depth of 25 kilometers, about five to ten kilometers off the shores of the city of Miyazaki on Japan’s southern island, Kyushu (USGS, 2024). The population of this region is accustomed to large shocks; in 2016 a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck the city of Kumamoto, in the center of Kyushu, causing extensive damage.
One in 5 children – or 466 million – live in areas that experience at least double the number of extremely hot days every year compared to just six decades ago, according to a new UNICEF analysis. Using a comparison between a 1960s and a 2020-2024 average, the analysis issues a stark warning about the speed and scale at which extremely hot days – measured as more than 35 degrees Celsius / 95 degrees Fahrenheit – are increasing for almost half a billion children worldwide, many without the infrastructure or services to endure it.
Cyclone Remal: A wake-up call for building resilience
With a span of about 400km, Cyclone Remal struck the Bangladesh coast on 26th May 2024, passing through the Sundarbans with wind speeds as high as 111km/h. The cyclone caused prolonged precipitation and widespread destruction, with floods submerging areas and disrupting livelihoods across 19 districts. Damage to 61 kilometres of embankments in Khulna, Satkhira, and Bagerhat resulted in significant financial losses.
Building disaster resilience by empowering future innovators
The NSW Government has recently announced funding for a UNSW Sydney-led program for upper primary school students on bushfire and air quality management. The Fresh AIR Innovators program combines technology, environmental awareness and entrepreneurial spirit to inspire the next generation of problem-solvers and innovators. Project lead Professor Donna Green from the UNSW School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences says the program is a re-think on how STEM and disaster resilience is taught in schools.
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