Newsblog

On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9.0 undersea earthquake struck the east coast of Japan. The quake triggered a devastating tsunami that destroyed large parts of the coastal region and ultimately led to the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The event is considered the most serious nuclear accident since Chernobyl and […]

The Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK) has published a comprehensively revised edition of its guide “Prepared for Emergencies and Disasters.” The brochure provides practical preparedness and response recommendations for a range of emergency and crisis situations. It also includes detailed checklists to help individuals prepare – for example for power outages, […]

The new report “Germany: The Economic Case for Investing in Disaster Preparedness and Resilience” by the World Bank has been published. It demonstrates why investing in disaster preparedness and resilience in Germany is not only necessary, but also economically sound. In light of increasing extreme weather events, including floods, heatwaves, and wildfires, the report estimates […]

The open-access publication Navigating Urban Development – Learnings from East and Southeast Asia explores pathways for sustainable urban transformation in the face of rapid urbanisation and the escalating climate crisis. Edited by Vivienne Mayer, Anika Slawski and Frank Schwartze, the volume brings together insights from ten research projects conducted in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, […]

The Umweltbundesamt (German Environment Agency, UBA) has published the updated “Handbook on Environmental Costs – Methodological Convention 4.0”, providing revised environmental cost factors to support evidence-based political and economic decision-making. According to current modelling, Germany’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2024 will cause global welfare losses of approximately €647 billion over their atmospheric lifetime. These estimates […]

On 10 February 2026, tropical cyclone Gezani hit the east coast of Madagascar with wind speeds of up to 250 kilometres per hour, causing severe devastation. According to official reports, at least 31 people were killed and many more were injured. Several people are still missing. Hundreds of thousands of people have been affected. Aerial […]

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) has published a free online course for journalists and media professionals worldwide entitled ‘Covering Disasters from a Different Lens’. The aim is to make reporting on disasters fact-based, responsible and solution-oriented – thereby strengthening risk awareness, preparedness and resilience in society. In times of disinformation and […]

The German Weather Service (DWD) has published its latest seasonal climate outlook for the period March to July 2026 (issued 16 February 2026). Seasonal forecasts do not predict day-to-day weather conditions; instead, they indicate climate tendencies over several months compared to a historical reference period (1991–2020). For Germany, the current model simulations suggest the following: […]

The World Economic Forum (WEF) published the Global Risks Report 2026 in January 2026. Now in its 21st edition, the report analyses key global risks across different time horizons and is aimed at political and economic decision-makers worldwide. At its core is the concept of an emerging “Age of Competition”: an increasingly fragmented global order […]