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As peak rains loom – and with PfR support – Red Cross in Indonesia expands forecast training to include first-response command posts

As peak rains loom – and with PfR support – Red Cross in Indonesia expands forecast training to include first-response command posts
20 November 2017

The PMI* – the Red Cross in Indonesia – last week expanded its forecast training programme to include some first-response [...]

Can games help policy-makers make the right choices to reduce disaster risk?

Can games help policy-makers make the right choices to reduce disaster risk?
19 November 2017

(This story appeared first on the website of the Thomson Reuters Foundation on Friday. It has been edited here for [...]

Netherlands-based global centre of excellence on climate adaptation formally launched at COP23

Netherlands-based global centre of excellence on climate adaptation formally launched at COP23
15 November 2017

(*This story appeared first last week, before the GCECA was launched, on the Thomson Reuters website under the headline, ‘What [...]

Red Cross Red Crescent pledge on climate at COP23: We’ll track operational, scientific and policy landscape as part of ‘pivotal role’

Red Cross Red Crescent pledge on climate at COP23: We’ll track operational, scientific and policy landscape as part of ‘pivotal role’
14 November 2017

IFRC Secretary General Elhadj As Sy today described climate change as “a key driver of risk” in the modern world, [...]

‘Higher than before, bigger than before’: Fiji climate impacts detailed at D&C Days

‘Higher than before, bigger than before’: Fiji climate impacts detailed at D&C Days
13 November 2017

Filipe Nainoca, Director-General of the Fiji Red Cross Society (FRCS), says Fijians have a neat way of summing up the climate [...]

D&C Days in Bonn ends with call for ‘truly transformational’ commitment by donors (and a poem)

D&C Days in Bonn ends with call for ‘truly transformational’ commitment by donors (and a poem)
13 November 2017

The 15th Development and Climate Days (D&C Days) workshop ended in Bonn yesterday evening with a call from the chair [...]

Climate change: ‘The biggest social injustice of our generation’

Climate change: ‘The biggest social injustice of our generation’
11 November 2017

The Director of the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), Andrew Norton, today told the Development and Climate Days [...]

15th Development and Climate Days opened in Bonn by local hosts

15th Development and Climate Days opened in Bonn by local hosts
11 November 2017

The Development & Climate Days (‘D&C Days’) workshop over the middle weekend of UN climate talks began in Bonn today, and [...]

‘Climate change and the weather extremes it brings is not the future: it’s the present. It’s our reality’

‘Climate change and the weather extremes it brings is not the future: it’s the present. It’s our reality’
10 November 2017

The president of the Kiribati Red Cross, Martin Tofinga (pictured, centre), today told a workshop at the Council of Delegates [...]

At Bonn COP meeting, Pacific youth want world to act on climate change

At Bonn COP meeting, Pacific youth want world to act on climate change
7 November 2017

(This story appeared first last month on the IFRC website. It has been edited here for time references.) Esther Nabuti, [...]

As COP talks open in Bonn, a close look at managing climate variability in Africa

As COP talks open in Bonn, a close look at managing climate variability in Africa
5 November 2017

The Climate Centre today publishes a detailed study of how the climate risk inherent in the 2015–16 El Niño was managed [...]

What’s at stake at COP23?

What’s at stake at COP23?
5 November 2017

(This story appeared first last week on the website of the Thomson Reuters Foundation. It has been edited here for [...]

IFRC president’s advice to successor: embrace change

IFRC president’s advice to successor: embrace change
2 November 2017

(This opinion piece appeared first earlier today on the Devex website.) This month, at a major global meeting in Antalya, [...]

Health impacts focus of Pacific Islands climate forum

Health impacts focus of Pacific Islands climate forum
1 November 2017

Staying several steps ahead of possible health impacts from weather and climate was the focus of the third Pacific Islands [...]

report: Climate change disproportionately affecting health of vulnerable in lower-income countries

report: Climate change disproportionately affecting health of vulnerable in lower-income countries
31 October 2017

The Lancet Countdown – the UK-based international medical journal’s annual assessment of links between climate change and human health – [...]

‘Poor countries wary as scientists ponder “hacking the climate”’

‘Poor countries wary as scientists ponder “hacking the climate”’
19 October 2017

(This story appeared first yesterday on the website of the Thomson Reuters Foundation. It has been edited slightly here for [...]

(Ex-)Hurricane Ophelia: a sign of things to come in a warmer world?

(Ex-)Hurricane Ophelia: a sign of things to come in a warmer world?
17 October 2017

The Irish Red Cross (IRC) late yesterday said its emergency crews remained on stand-by after Storm Ophelia swept across the [...]

#IDDR2017 news: Address ‘climate-related displacement’ and help bounce back, says South Sudan S-G

#IDDR2017 news: Address ‘climate-related displacement’ and help bounce back, says South Sudan S-G
13 October 2017

(This story is the third in our series today marking the 2017 International Day for Disaster Reduction.) John Lobor, Secretary General of [...]

#IDDR2017 opinion: Could Bangladesh beat a ‘new normal’ in climate-related disaster?

#IDDR2017 opinion: Could Bangladesh beat a ‘new normal’ in climate-related disaster?
13 October 2017

(This article, written specially for International Day for Disaster Reduction, appeared first on the UNISDR website earlier this week. It’s [...]

#IDDR2017 blog: Meteorological information not all about ‘bad news’

#IDDR2017 blog: Meteorological information not all about ‘bad news’
13 October 2017

(This blog, published for the International Day for Disaster Reduction, appeared first yesterday on the UK Met Office DRR website. [...]

European ‘eyes on Earth’ agency preparing operational climate-attribution service

European ‘eyes on Earth’ agency preparing operational climate-attribution service
11 October 2017

A scientific workshop ended today in the Czech capital, Prague, intended to lay out modalities for the addition of climate [...]

Continuing integrated PfR theme, Indian Red Cross working with the Met Office on ‘last mile’ heatwave outreach

Continuing integrated PfR theme, Indian Red Cross working with the Met Office on ‘last mile’ heatwave outreach
5 October 2017

The Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) and the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) began working closely together on heatwave forecasts earlier [...]

PfR Kenya camel caravan advocates for Ewaso Ngiro conservation

PfR Kenya camel caravan advocates for Ewaso Ngiro conservation
4 October 2017

(This story appeared first on Friday on the websites of Wetlands International and Partners for Resilience. It has been edited [...]

Volcanoes: the climate angle

Volcanoes: the climate angle
2 October 2017

The Red Cross is this week continuing to assist with two major operations to get thousands of people out of [...]

Opinion: Are the media now carrying the torch on climate?

Opinion: Are the media now carrying the torch on climate?
25 September 2017

Besides each other, we in the humanitarian sector rely, broadly speaking, on three professional communities to push action to address [...]

International Red Cross emergency team deploying to devastated Dominica

International Red Cross emergency team deploying to devastated Dominica
21 September 2017

(This story is a press release issued earlier today by the IFRC jointly in Panama City and Geneva.) A global [...]

UN agencies combine to blame conflict and ‘climate-related shocks’ for first spike in global hunger in a decade

UN agencies combine to blame conflict and ‘climate-related shocks’ for first spike in global hunger in a decade
18 September 2017

For the first time five United Nations agencies have joined forces to compile a new edition of the annual UN [...]

To predict floods in Africa, check forecasts for extremes and river basins, not total rain in a season, say scientists

To predict floods in Africa, check forecasts for extremes and river basins, not total rain in a season, say scientists
15 September 2017

‘Seasonal forecasts’ that make general statements about above- or below-average total rainfall over the course of a season are not [...]

IPCC agrees outlines for next climate assessment with ‘stronger focus on risks and solutions’

IPCC agrees outlines for next climate assessment with ‘stronger focus on risks and solutions’
12 September 2017

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), meeting in Montreal, last week finalized the outline of its next scientific assessment [...]

UK-supported climate-resilience programme issues major progress report at 2-year mark

UK-supported climate-resilience programme issues major progress report at 2-year mark
11 September 2017

The global UK-supported programme known as ‘BRACED’ that builds resilience in parts of the Sahel, East Africa and Asia badly [...]

‘Our worst fears have played out in Barbuda and elsewhere’

‘Our worst fears have played out in Barbuda and elsewhere’
8 September 2017

(This story is an IFRC press release issued yesterday in Geneva and Panama City. The International Federation also issued a [...]

Red Cross braces for passage of super-strength Hurricane Irma across Caribbean

Red Cross braces for passage of super-strength Hurricane Irma across Caribbean
7 September 2017

(This story and report from Haiti appeared first earlier today on the IFRC website.) Red Cross societies across the Caribbean [...]

New study centres on Red Cross partnership-building for flood resilience in Dar es Salaam

New study centres on Red Cross partnership-building for flood resilience in Dar es Salaam
6 September 2017

A case study published recently by the Global Disaster Preparedness Center (GDPC) highlights partnership aspects of the inter-agency programme for [...]

Second forecast-based humanitarian distribution by Togo Red Cross in West Africa monsoon

Second forecast-based humanitarian distribution by Togo Red Cross in West Africa monsoon
5 September 2017

The Togolese Red Cross (TRC) yesterday carried out its second humanitarian distribution in two weeks under forecast-based financing (FbF), as [...]

Unprecedented floods, apocalyptic language. And climate science

Unprecedented floods, apocalyptic language. And climate science
30 August 2017

‘Hurricane Harvey and the inevitable question of climate change’ ran the headline in the Washington Post yesterday; the article itself [...]

US scientists: Droughts to become more frequent and severe

US scientists: Droughts to become more frequent and severe
29 August 2017

A new study using NASA satellite technology that tracks changes in landscapes over time finds ecosystems took progressively longer to [...]

Op-ed: ‘I am more angry than sad. The world should be angry too’

Op-ed: ‘I am more angry than sad. The world should be angry too’
28 August 2017

(Dr Fatoumata Nafo-Traore is head of the IFRC’s Africa region. This opinion piece was first published this month by Project [...]

Togolese Red Cross launches water-purification drive after FbF ‘trigger’ alert from dam

Togolese Red Cross launches water-purification drive after FbF ‘trigger’ alert from dam
25 August 2017

After heavy seasonal rainfall the Togolese Red Cross (TRC) this week began distributing ‘Aquatabs’ – water purification tablets – as [...]

From the Philippines to Haiti: expanding the ‘Y-Adapt’ global community

From the Philippines to Haiti: expanding the ‘Y-Adapt’ global community
18 August 2017

A three-day ‘training of trainers’ workshop at a Haitian Red Cross (HRC) centre in Port-au-Prince was held late last month [...]

Climate Centre: Integrate early action and preparedness into social protection

Climate Centre: Integrate early action and preparedness into social protection
16 August 2017

Climate Centre specialists this week call for existing social protection systems around the world to be expanded to include “early [...]

First ‘clear climate signal’ found in Europe-wide floods

First ‘clear climate signal’ found in Europe-wide floods
13 August 2017

(This story appeared first last week on the website of Climate Central. It has been edited slightly here for length. [...]

Defining and predicting heatwaves in Bangladesh

Defining and predicting heatwaves in Bangladesh
9 August 2017

(This story, together with illustrative graphics and video, appeared first earlier this week on the website of the International Research [...]

Mitigating climate impacts, building resilience: East Asia Red Cross youth summer camp

Mitigating climate impacts, building resilience: East Asia Red Cross youth summer camp
8 August 2017

The 2017 East Asia Red Cross youth summer camp – attended by around 100 young people from the National Societies [...]

IFRC warns of serious health risks as extreme heatwave sweeps across Europe

IFRC warns of serious health risks as extreme heatwave sweeps across Europe
4 August 2017

(This story is an IFRC press release issued earlier today jointly in Geneva and Budapest. Please follow the link for [...]

ICRC: No major progress on armed conflict and climate risk underlying ‘the four famines’

ICRC: No major progress on armed conflict and climate risk underlying ‘the four famines’
2 August 2017

ICRC Director of Operations Dominik Stillhart last month told US senators there has been “no major progress on the twin [...]

Innovative educational formats at international adaptation conference

Innovative educational formats at international adaptation conference
1 August 2017

The annual international conferences on community-based adaptation organized by the UK-based International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and partners [...]

Red Cross scales up response to ‘unprecedented’ dengue outbreak in Sri Lanka

Red Cross scales up response to ‘unprecedented’ dengue outbreak in Sri Lanka
25 July 2017

(This story is a press release issued yesterday jointly in Colombo and Geneva, and at the IFRC’s Asia-Pacific office in [...]

Op-ed: ‘The problem isn’t hunger: food crisis in East Africa’

Op-ed: ‘The problem isn’t hunger: food crisis in East Africa’
14 July 2017

(This op-ed appeared first on Wednesday on the website of the Australian Institute of International Affairs. Dr Fatoumata Nafo-Traore is [...]

Kenya Red Cross steps up humanitarian cash relief as drought fails to relinquish grip

Kenya Red Cross steps up humanitarian cash relief as drought fails to relinquish grip
12 July 2017

(This story is a KRCS-IFRC press release issued in Nairobi on Monday. A detailed scientific study of the Kenyan drought [...]

Second cash-relief operation under FbF of Bangladesh monsoon

Second cash-relief operation under FbF of Bangladesh monsoon
11 July 2017

The Chinese Red Cross has donated US$100,000 to the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BDRCS) to assist with its ongoing monsoon [...]

‘Scale up climate action from tens of thousands to tens of millions of households’

‘Scale up climate action from tens of thousands to tens of millions of households’
5 July 2017

The eleventh international conference on community-based climate adaptation, ‘CBA11’, ending in Kampala last week heard a call for climate action to [...]