Satellite survey shows California’s sinking coastal hotspots
A new study has for the first time tracked the California coast’s vertical land motion. The hotspots of the sinking coast leave 4 to 8 million people at a higher risk of flooding during...
Tagged: flooding
Bangkok transforms old railway into an urban park
Thailand’s capital is opening a new urban park on an abandoned railway. The project is designed to boost well-being for city dwellers and to mitigate the effects of climate change. The Phra Pok Klao...
Future hurricanes may bring more intense rain
Using global climate modelling, a team of researchers at Stony Brook University is projecting that future tropical cyclones will feature more intense rain. While rain intensity is likely to increase, the number of storms...
Mangrove conservation can pay for itself in flood protection
A new global study shows that mangroves provide billions of dollars worth of flood risk reduction benefits every year. The natural coastal defenses provided by mangrove forests reduce annual flooding significantly in critical hotspots...
People are willing to work for green infrastructure
Green infrastructure, including features such as rain barrels, green roofs, rain gardens, and on-site water treatment, can provide affordable and environmentally sound ways to manage heavy rainfall. Green infrastructure is challenging to maintain, because...
Largest rooftop farm in Asia mimics rice terraces to protect against flooding
Landscapers have planted Asia’s largest urban rooftop farm atop one of Thailand’s oldest universities. The 7,000-square-meter green space can help feed people and even mitigate the effects of climate change, such as flooding. Thammasat...
Greenland losing ice faster than expected
Scientists are sounding the alarm bell after new research reveals that Greenland is losing ice seven times faster than in the 1990s. If it remains at this rate, 100 million will be exposed to...
Cities remain unprepared for climate risks
Two thirds of cities around the world are already noticing the damaging effects of climate change, but less than half have developed long-term plans to deal with those threats, finds a new report. Environmental...
Major global cities to experience ‘striking change’ in climate by 2050
A new study from the Crowther Lab at ETH Zurich has found that 77% of major cities around the world will experience a climate in 2050 that is closer to that of another existing...
Climate change could lead to language loss worldwide
Climate change could wipe out small linguistic communities located on islands and coastlines vulnerable to hurricanes and sea level rise, warns Anastasia Riehl of Queen’s University. Many of us are by now familiar with...
Bamboo modular unit wins future cities competition
A modular housing project made of bamboo that captures rainwater, reduces heat gain and prevents flooding has won an international design competition. Earl Patrick Forlales, a 23-year-old from Manila, has won the Royal Institution...
New cities putting millions at risk from climate change
A forthcoming study from McGill University suggests that developers and planning authorities involved in building over one hundred new cities around the world are doing very little to make their projects resilient to rising...
Billions at risk of extreme weather, food shortages by 2050
Billions of people in thousands of cities around the world will be at risk from climate-related heatwaves, drought, flooding, food shortages, blackouts and social inequality by mid-century, finds new research. The report The Future...
City planning guidelines for a better climate
Climate change will alter our living conditions, especially in densely populated cities. Trees and green areas can have a cooling effect and protect against flooding. How can green infrastructure be taken into account in...
Plants are thermostat for extreme weather
Plants could be the key to regulating extreme weather forecasts, as a new study demonstrates the importance of vegetation in responding to rising C02 levels. Predicting how increasing atmospheric CO2 will affect the hydrologic cycle...
Europe’s cities face increasing extreme weather
European cities face increasing heatwaves, drought conditions and river flooding, a landmark study has forecast. Up to 85 per cent of UK cities with a river could face more frequent flooding. Research has for the...
Climate change makes 2017 most expensive year on record
Climate-related extreme weather events like the hurricane trio of Harvey, Irma and Maria or the severe flooding in South Asia have cost the insurance industry a record amount in 2017. The insurance industry is...
America argues over climate change
Not long after President Donald Trump appointed climate change deniers to the country’s highest posts was the country hit by the strongest hurricane ever. Even the Republican mayor of Miami finds himself at odds...
Wild West development mentality claims lives
Houston was one of the fastest growing cities in the US thanks to its liberal building regulations. But heavy, once-unprecedented storms are set to occur more frequently – and claim more victims. John Dyer...
Weather extremes could kill hundreds of thousands
By the end of the century, up to 152,000 Europeans could die every year as a result of weather extremes, finds a new study. Extreme heat waves will become unavoidable if greenhouse gas emissions...
