Andrew King, The University of Melbourne and Ben Henley, The University of Melbourne
From Greece, to the UK, to Japan and even Sweden, a slew of places in the Northern Hemisphere are suffering extreme heat. And the chances of extreme heat records tumbling are growing all the time.
Many factors can influence people to evacuate or stay in place when disasters threaten. New research using Facebook posts suggests that people with broad social networks are more apt to move.
A historian of wildfires explains the difference between urban and rural fire cultures, and what it means for protecting communities in fire-prone rural areas.
With elevated wildfire risks forecast across much of the western US this summer, here’s how travelers can track local conditions, stay out of harm’s way and avoid accidentally starting fires.
A. Joshua West, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
While the Montecito, California mudslides took 20 lives, landslides kill far more people in developing countries. Tighter construction standards and early warning systems could help reduce their toll.
In response to mudslides that have killed at least 20 people in Southern California, a geologist calls for more resources to study and map landslide hazards so residents can understand the risks.
Tim Curran, Lincoln University, New Zealand; George Perry, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau, and Sarah Wyse, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
Wildfires are expected to increase in a warming world, but there is another way humans are changing the patterns and intensity of fires: by introducing flammable plants to new environments.
Max Moritz, University of California, Santa Barbara
With wildfires continuing to rage across southern California, a fire researcher says lowering fire risk means reconsidering where and how we build our communities.
Intense wildfires in southern California are triggering air quality alerts. Health experts know surprisingly little about how inhaling smoke affects human health, especially over the long term.
Record-breaking wildfires made headlines around the world in 2017. Fire intensity will increase in Canada in the future with climate change, but we can invest in tools to improve the outcome.
This year is poised to go down as the hottest non-El Niño year ever recorded, with record low polar ice and extreme weather that left many regions battling bushfires and hurricanes.
Wildfire Specialist at the University of California Cooperative Extension; Adjunct Professor Bren School of Environmental Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara
Professor of Civil, Environmental & Ecological Engineering, Director of the Healthy Plumbing Consortium and Center for Plumbing Safety, Purdue University