In 2024, the Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) recorded 393 natural hazard-related disasters. These events caused 16,753 fatalities and affected 167.2 million people. Economic losses totaled US$241.95 billion. The year 2024 was marked by extreme temperature events in Asia that caused thousands of deaths, severe droughts in Africa affecting over 25 …
Dependence upon groundwater to meet rising agricultural and domestic water needs is expected to increase substantially across the tropics where, by 2050, over half of the world’s population is projected to live. Rare, long-term groundwater-level records in the tropics indicate that groundwater recharge occurs disproportionately from heavy rainfalls exceeding a …
In recent decades there has been an increase in magnitude and occurrence of heat waves and a decrease of cold waves which are possibly related to the anthropogenic influence (Solomon et al., 2007). This study describes the extreme temperature regime of heat waves and cold waves across South America over …
The long-term rise in global temperatures, the dominant cause of which is the anthropogenic emission of greenhouse gases, combined with the effects of a developing El Niño, have resulted in unusual global warmth in 2015. The global-average near-surface temperature for 2015 is likely to be the warmest on record according …
This paper identifies and characterizes the environmental maturity level of local and multinational high-technology corporations located in Brazil. This characterization is achieved by discussing the adoption of environmental management practices and considering aspects of the productive process stage. An eight-case study was conducted through data triangulation using interviews with employees …
Global freshwater vulnerability is a product of environmental and human dimensions, however, it is rarely assessed as such. Our approach identifies freshwater vulnerability using four broad categories: endowment, demand, infrastructure, and institutions, to capture impacts on natural and managed water systems within the coupled human–hydrologic environment. These categories are represented …
Metrics that synthesize the complex effects of climate change are essential tools for mapping future threats to biodiversity and predicting which species are likely to adapt in place to new climatic conditions, disperse and establish in areas with newly suitable climate, or face the prospect of extirpation. The most commonly …
The Bahía Blanca Estuary, located at the Atlantic coast of Argentina, includes a governmental nature reserve to protect biodiversity, lands and water; however, as the process of industrialization and urbanization is stepping rapidly at the neighbouring area, the potential increase in contaminant loads is a serious concern. After several contaminants …
The relation between rainfall and water accumulated in reservoirs comprises nonlinear feedbacks. Here we show that they may generate alternative equilibrium regimes, one of high water-volume, the other of low water-volume. Reservoirs can be seen as socio-environmental systems at risk of regime shifts, characteristic of tipping point transitions. We analyze …
Two weeks before the 193 member-states of the United Nations approve the sustainable development agenda for 2030 in New York, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) says Latin America and the Caribbean have achieved several key objectives of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Although these goals …
The area of land covered by forest and trees is an important indicator of environmental condition. This study presents and analyses results from the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2015 (FRA 2015) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. FRA 2015 was based on responses to surveys by …
Projected future trends in water availability are associated with large uncertainties in many regions of the globe. In mountain areas with complex topography, climate models have often limited capabilities to adequately simulate the precipitation variability on small spatial scales. Also, their validation is hampered by typically very low station density. …
Forty years after the ocean floor was first mapped by hand, a team of Australian researchers has created the first digital map of the entire sea floor. Made by the University of Sydney's School of Geosciences and National ICT Australia (NICTA), the map can be used to plot the planet's …
Health priorities since the UN Millennium Declaration have focused strongly on children younger than 5 years. The health of older children (age 5–9 years) and younger adolescents (age 10–14 years) has been neglected until recently, especially in low-income and middle-income countries, and mortality measures for these age groups have often …
Climate change is a threat to human societies and natural ecosystems, yet public opinion research finds that public awareness and concern vary greatly. Here, using an unprecedented survey of 119 countries, we determine the relative influence of socio-demographic characteristics, geography, perceived well-being, and beliefs on public climate change awareness and …
The most advanced candidate vaccine against dengue viruses, called CYD-TDV, is progressing toward potential registration and review by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2016. CYDTDV is a formulation of four chimeric yellow fever 17D vaccine viruses, each one engineered to express the surface envelope and prM (membrane) proteins from …
A candidate tetravalent dengue vaccine is being assessed in three clinical trials involving more than 35,000 children between the ages of 2 and 16 years in Asian–Pacific and Latin American countries. The researchers report the results of long-term follow-up interim analyses and integrated efficacy analyses.
Reforming fossil fuel subsidies could free up enough funds to finance universal access to water, sanitation, and electricity in many countries, as well as helping to cut global greenhouse-gas emissions.
Currently, little is known on how volcanic eruptions impact large-scale climate phenomena such as paleo-ITCZ position or South American summer monsoon behavior. In this paper, an analysis of observations and model simulations is employed to assess the influence of large volcanic eruptions on the climate of South America. This problem …
Most studies of the causes of diarrhoea in low-income and middle-income countries have looked at severe disease in people presenting for care, and there are few estimates of pathogen-specific diarrhoea burdens in the community. The researchers undertook a birth cohort study with not only intensive community surveillance for diarrhoea but …
Anthropogenic declines of animal pollinators and the associated effects on human nutrition are of growing concern. We quantified the nutritional and health outcomes associated with decreased intake of pollinator-dependent foods for populations around the world. The researchers assembled a database of supplies of 224 types of food in 156 countries. …
