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  Portland, Oregon long term shift to energy efficient LED street lighting has delivered significant environmental and financial benefits with the city streetlights and traffic signals now using substantially less energy than they did two decades ago. The city major LED conversion began in 2014 following approval of an $18.5 million general-obligation bond by the Portland City Council in 2012. The programme focused on replacing about 45,000 older high pressure sodium streetlights with LED fixtures. Portland owns more than 50,000 streetlights, including thousands of overhead fixtures illuminating residential streets, major roads and arterial corridors. The city says LED fixtures use about half the energy of the older lights they replaced and have a much longer operating life, ...

  A devastating mudflow that struck Boston village in Kyrgyzstan’s Suzak district in 2024 has highlighted the enormous financial and social burden disaster recovery places on vulnerable mountain communities. According to a case study by sociologist Salavat Baktybek, families affected by the mudflow faced repair costs equivalent to nearly 16 times their average monthly income, forcing some households to cut spending on food, healthcare and education. The fast moving mudflow swept through the village in the Jalal Abad region during the spring of 2024, destroying homes, barns and agricultural fields within hours. Repair costs far exceed household incomes The research examined 15 households and three local officials in Boston village to understand how families were coping a...

Drone mapping is emerging as a valuable tool for helping cities better understand and prepare for growing disaster risks, particularly as rapid urban development changes landscapes faster than traditional maps can be updated. High resolution drone imagery can capture buildings, roads, drainage systems, slopes and vegetation in greater detail. When combined with GIS, flood models and infrastructure data, this information can help planners identify vulnerable areas and make more informed decisions. Research in the United States highlights several applications. In Virginia, drone imagery has been used alongside flood modelling to assess how changing urban environments influence flood risk. In Houston survey grade drones helped researchers identify building level flood vulnerability by m...

  As cities expand and landscapes change rapidly, outdated maps can make it difficult for planners to understand emerging disaster risks. A new analysis highlights how drone mapping could help cities collect detailed and up to date spatial information to strengthen disaster resilient urban planning. Drone technology can capture high resolution images of buildings, roads, drainage systems, slopes and vegetation, helping planners better understand how physical changes in cities may increase exposure to floods, wildfires and other hazards. The value of drones goes beyond taking detailed photographs from the sky. When drone imagery is processed into orthomosaics, elevation models and three dimensional datasets, it can be combined with Geographic Information Systems, hazard maps a...

  Machine learning systems could detect signs of sudden eruptions hours earlier forcing scientists and authorities to rethink the balance between false alarms and public safety Scientists are exploring whether artificial intelligence and machine learning systems could provide earlier warnings of sudden volcanic eruptions even if doing so means communities may occasionally face more false alarms. New research suggests that automated forecasting tools capable of analysing subtle changes in volcanic vibrations could identify signs of an impending eruption hours before it occurs. The findings raise an important question for disaster management: how many false alarms should society accept if earlier warnings could save lives? The issue is particularly urgent for volcanoes capab...

  An invasive tree introduced decades ago to combat desertification in Gujarat Banni grasslands is now being used in biochar projects linked to corporate carbon removal deals, but experts and local communities have raised concerns over the model’s environmental impact. Prosopis juliflora, locally known as gando baval has spread across large parts of the Banni grasslands since its introduction in the 1960s. The invasive species has displaced native vegetation and contributed to a sharp decline in fodder production. Climate tech company Varaha ClimateAg has developed a project in Kachchh in which the invasive tree is converted into biochar using low oxygen kilns. The resulting material is intended to be mixed into soil where its carbon can potentially remain stored for long periods...

Disasters are often described using terms such as “natural,” “compound,” “cascading,” “complex” or “hybrid.” However, disaster researcher Ilan Kelman argues that these labels can distract from a more important reality disasters occur because hazards interact with human vulnerabilities. In a recent analysis Kelman emphasised that floods, earthquakes, storms, pandemics and other hazards do not automatically become disasters. Social inequality, poverty, discrimination, weak infrastructure and poor governance often determine who suffers the greatest consequences. Vulnerability turns hazards into disasters According to the analysis, vulnerability is created through long term social and political processes. Unequal access to education, healthcare, resources and safe infrastructure can l...

An invasive tree introduced in Gujarat Kachchh region decades ago to combat desertification is now being used in biochar projects linked to the carbon market, with major companies including Google and Microsoft among buyers of carbon removal credits. Prosopis juliflora locally known as gando baval, has spread across large parts of the Banni grasslands, replacing native vegetation and reducing fodder availability. Climate tech company Varaha ClimateAg has worked with local organisations to convert the tree’s biomass into biochar, a charcoal like material intended to store carbon when incorporated into soil. However, the approach has raised concerns among researchers, contractors and community members. Some field observations suggest that biochar may encourage the regrowth of Prosopis ...

Scientists are exploring a new nanotechnology based floating cover that could help reduce water loss from lakes, dams and reservoirs by blocking heat from the sun while still allowing enough visible light to reach the water. The idea described by physicist Daniel Kwasi Kpeglo of the University of South Africa, works like a sunscreen for water. The lightweight floating material is designed to reflect heat carrying infrared radiation while allowing much of the visible sunlight needed by aquatic plants and animals to pass through. Water evaporation is a major challenge for reservoirs, particularly in hot and dry regions. Rising temperatures are increasing evaporation rates, reducing the amount of stored water available for households, agriculture and industry. The experimental cover us...

  More than 1.3 million plastic bottles were collected from beaches, rivers and waterways around the world during the 2025 International Coastal Cleanup, highlighting the continuing scale of plastic pollution in marine environments. Around 630,000 volunteers participated in the annual cleanup organised by Ocean Conservancy, removing almost 13.9 million pieces of rubbish from more than 15,000 miles of coastline and waterways. Plastic bottles were the most commonly recorded item collected during the cleanup. Volunteers also picked up more than 1.2 million cigarette butts, 885,000 plastic bottle caps, 581,000 plastic shopping bags and more than 1 million other plastic bags and food containers. The figures underline the continued dominance of disposable plastic in marine litte...