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    As climate-driven storms, floods and water shocks intensify across Southeast Asia, adaptation and resilience are emerging not only as urgent necessities but as major economic opportunities, according to a new analysis by the World Economic Forum (WEF). In a commentary published on PreventionWeb, authors Anne Christianson and Ying Jie Tan argue that climate adaptation and resilience could represent a trillion-dollar annual investment opportunity globally by 2050. Yet, nearly 90 per cent of current adaptation finance still comes from public sources, highlighting a significant gap in private-sector participation. The warning comes amid a string of extreme weather events in the region. During the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Brazil, Typhoon...

    Devastating rainfall and flood-related incidents across Jammu and Kashmir in 2025 claimed 152 lives, left 179 people injured and caused extensive damage to homes, livestock and infrastructure, according to official data. Figures released by the Disaster Management, Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Department (DMRRRD) show that Jammu division bore the brunt of the calamity, accounting for 151 of the fatalities, while one death was reported from the Kashmir Valley. Among the most tragic incidents were separate cloudburst and landslide events in August that together killed around 100 pilgrims. In Kishtwar district, a cloudburst in Chisoti village on August 14 claimed 63 lives and left several injured, with 30 people initially reported missing. Days later, on...

    The Uttarakhand government has proposed developing helipads at the portals of key mountain tunnels to bolster disaster response infrastructure in the Himalayan state, where road connectivity is often disrupted by landslides and extreme weather. The plan, put forward by the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA), aims to use strategically located tunnel entrances as rapid-response hubs for helicopter-based rescue and relief operations. UCADA Chief Executive Officer Ashish Chauhan said air services are critical in emergencies in mountainous terrain. “Road routes in hilly areas are often blocked or time-consuming. In such situations, helicopter services can be the most effective means of delivering rapid relief,” he said, adding that helipads at tun...

    A groundbreaking artificial intelligence system is transforming ocean forecasting in the Mediterranean, generating detailed 15-day predictions in just seconds while significantly reducing computational costs. Developed by researchers at the Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici (CMCC) in collaboration with the University of Helsinki, the new high-resolution forecasting system, known as SeaCast, leverages AI to deliver faster and more energy-efficient forecasts than traditional physics-based models. The research describing the system has been published in Scientific Reports. A New Benchmark in Regional Ocean Forecasting SeaCast stands out from existing global AI forecasting models by integrating both oceanic and atmospheric variables, capturing the ...

    Dramatic shifts in fast-flowing air currents high above Australia are driving the country’s recent wave of severe droughts, heatwaves and catastrophic bushfires, according to new research published by academics writing in The Conversation. The study, authored by Milton Speer and Lance M. Leslie, links major changes in upper-atmospheric jet streams to persistent rainfall deficits across southern Australia over the past decade. Researchers say the findings underscore how climate change is reshaping large-scale weather systems, with profound consequences for water security, agriculture and bushfire risk. Jet Streams Shift South About 8 to 10 kilometres above the Earth’s surface, narrow bands of powerful westerly winds known as jet streams steer rain-bearing system...

    Spain is stepping up efforts to protect the public from climate-related disinformation, announcing plans to tighten accountability for digital platforms in the wake of recent emergencies that exposed the rapid spread of false claims online. The move follows the European Union’s endorsement of the UN Declaration on Information Integrity on Climate Change and builds on enforcement measures under the bloc’s landmark Digital Services Act. Advocates say Spain’s initiative marks a turning point in how governments address the growing intersection of climate policy, public safety and online misinformation. The announcement was highlighted in an update by Climate Action Against Disinformation, whose co-authors Dana Schran and Philip Newell argue that climate disinformation...

    Climate change is adding weeks of harmful heat to the world’s coffee-growing regions each year, threatening harvests and contributing to volatile prices, according to a new analysis by Climate Central. The report finds that all 25 major coffee-producing countries responsible for about 97% of global supply experienced additional “coffee-harming” heat between 2021 and 2025 due to carbon pollution-driven warming. Coffee is one of the world’s most consumed beverages, with more than 2 billion cups drunk daily. But rising temperatures and extreme weather are making it increasingly difficult to grow the crop, particularly in tropical regions known as the “bean belt.” Using observed temperature data and counterfactual modeling through its Climate Shift Index, Climate C...

    When industrial disasters strike from chemical fires and oil spills to freight train derailments the immediate damage is often only part of the crisis. Toxic releases, combustion byproducts and environmental contamination can create complex and long-lasting risks to public health, ecosystems and corporate reputations. In a new briefing, experts from TRC Companies, Inc. detail nine essential considerations for managing fires, spills, leaks and derailments, emphasizing the need for disciplined science, rapid action and transparent communication. Authored by Michael E. Stevens, Heath Howard and Dr. Dennis Paustenbach, the guidance draws on decades of experience investigating hundreds of chemical exposure incidents across the United States. The first priority follo...

    China’s meteorological authorities have activated a Level-IV emergency response as strong winds, sandstorms and a cold wave are forecast to impact large swathes of northern China from Friday through Sunday. The China Meteorological Administration (CMA) announced the emergency measure amid expectations of widespread hazardous weather linked to powerful winds and blowing dust. On Friday, the National Meteorological Center issued yellow alerts for strong winds and sandstorms, along with a blue alert for a cold wave. According to the National Meteorological Center, strong winds are forecast to affect multiple regions, including Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai and Shaanxi. Parts of north China, the country’s northeast, and the Shandong Peninsula ar...

    Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology have made a major breakthrough in explaining a long-standing climate mystery: why parts of the Pacific Ocean have cooled over the past 45 years despite ongoing global warming. Their findings, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, mark the first time a climate model has successfully reproduced the observed cooling in the eastern tropical Pacific and the Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean. The “Pacific puzzle” For more than a decade, scientists have struggled to explain why the eastern tropical Pacific and parts of the Southern Ocean have cooled while most of the planet has warmed. Conventional climate models used in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project which inform assessme...