National Center for Disaster Preparedness, Columbia University

Women in Science: Disaster Preparedness Researcher Das Dores Ngueussie Ngamini Ngamini uses her background in atmospheric sciences and climate modeling to support research and solutions for climate adaptation and disaster preparedness.

Support has to be intentional by making science accessible through training, funding, pathways, & tools adapted to different communities & languages. When we remove barriers, women thrive, & the entire field benefits, noted Das Dores Ngueussie Ngamini. ow.ly/7a3n50YesAc @climate.columbia.edu

Join us on Feb 11, International Day of Women & Girls in Science, and throughout the week as we spotlight just a few of our many remarkable women researchers who are leaders and role models, using today's tools to answer tomorrow's essential questions. Via State of the Planet: https://bit.ly/4qnw67X

Capacity-Building with the Ethiopian Meteorological Institute Travel to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for a technical capacity-building mission as part of its broader effort to scale up anticipatory action for drought in the Horn of Africa.

✨ Researchers from NCDP helped build seasonal forecasting capacity with the Ethiopian Meteorological Institute. Read how. ow.ly/uKfy50Y8iCv @climate.columbia.edu #AnticipatoryAction #ForecastModeling

It is critical to communicate with farmers for projects to succeed, but current technologies fall short. Working with farmers, researchers from @climate.columbia.edu, Yale Center for Geospatial Solutions & School of the Environment participated in a novel game to understand risks. ow.ly/TVkB50Y421H

How to prepare for "rare," "dangerous" ice expected from this weekend's storm This weekend's storm looks to have major impacts from both snow and ice from Texas all the way to New England.

Freezing rain is "by far the most dangerous" form of precipitation. When rain freezes on & around surfaces, that could mean cars are encapsulated in ice. Bridges & roadways can also accumulate & freeze over puddles, noted @wxpizza.bsky.social. ow.ly/TqyJ50Y2TYu @axios.com @climate.columbia.edu

Disaster management is complex. This article, published in the @uchilegalforum.bsky.social, analyzes how federal agencies can integrate policies into climate-informed planning and leadership. ow.ly/VRVv50XWHtg @climate.columbia.edu @sabincenter.bsky.social

Proliferation of climate-related disasters points to the urgent need for climate resilience leadership. Sabin Center's Michael Burger, NCDP's Jeff Schlegelmilch & Lucia Bragg outline how FEMA could be a source. Via University of Chicago Legal Forum: https://bit.ly/4pOlcYU

It’s Been One Year Since Wildfires Devastated Los Angeles. What Have We Learned? In the wake of the fires, our disaster expert says that

The history of disasters takes us down a path of loss until we reach a breaking point & decide that what we are doing is no longer working, and then transformative innovation follows, noted Jeff Schlegelmilch. ow.ly/Bwxy50XW7P5 @climate.columbia.edu #LAWildfires

The Los Angeles wildfires were ‘the perfect storm’. Is the city ready for the next one? After the devastating fires, neighborhoods pledged to build back stronger and better than before. A year later, they’re still untangling issues

Many victims of the LA Wildfires are still tangled in a set of steep challenges. Many are uninsured or underinsured, and payouts have widely fallen far short of rebuilding costs, noted Thomas Chandler. ow.ly/ocOR50XTa4C #LAWildfires @climate.columbia.edu @us.theguardian.com

2025 was one of three hottest years on record, scientists say Climate change worsened by human behavior made 2025 one of the hottest years ever recorded. Also, the three-year warming average has crossed the threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius (or 2.7 Fahrenheit) si...

Places are seeing disasters they aren’t used to, extreme events are intensifying faster, and they are becoming more complex. That requires earlier warnings & new approaches to response and recovery, noted @wxpizza.bsky.social. ow.ly/tKnL50XSqQv @climate.columbia.edu @apnews.com

✨ New publication: "Pathways for enhancing capacity in adult climate literacy within US emergency management" with an epilogue about the present in the Journal of EM Mgmt. by @jldevincenzo.bsky.social with support from Anyieth Philip Ayuen & Syeda Kainaat Jah ow.ly/qKIY50XQ6Oz @climate.columbia.edu

We’re passing a dangerous global warming threshold — but we can't give up Paris' major climate target has been dead for years. Now, people are finally acknowledging it. What do we do next?

Climate overshoot has huge implications for where we live, how we get our food, & our quality of life, yet despite these potentially cataclysmic shifts, there has been little work done on the human implications of this world, noted @wxpizza.bsky.social. ow.ly/5i6e50XQ4gV @climate.columbia.edu

Year in Review: Our Top Stories of 2025 A look back at the stories and videos that shaped our year at State of the Planet.

2025 was a historic year - making headlines for disastrous wildfires, catastrophic floods in TX, and deadly heatwaves in Europe and Asia. Read the top stories that shaped the State of Our Planet.

@climate.columbia.edu @wxpizza.bsky.social
news.climate.columbia.edu/2025/12/22/y...

We’re passing a dangerous global warming threshold — but we’re not doomed This major climate target has been dead for years. Now, people are finally acknowledging it.

It is becoming increasingly irresponsible to focus solely on the physical modeling elements of overshooting [2.7°F/1.5 °C of warming]. We need to start thinking about what the [human] scenarios look like for a post-1.5 °C world. @wxpizza.bsky.social. ow.ly/I3G850XNaTY @climate.columbia.edu @vox.com

Can Generative AI help strengthen disaster preparedness and resilience among youth? New research indicates that GenAI chatbots, if thoughtfully designed and equitably implemented, can serve as a transformative tool for strengthening youth participation in disaster risk reduction.

💬 What role can #GenAI chatbots play in strengthening disaster preparedness and resilience, especially among youth? Shuyang Huang, @jldevincenzo.bsky.social, and Thomas Chandler weigh in on the benefits, challenges, and what frameworks should be prioritized. ow.ly/PnHF50XL75f @climate.columbia.edu

A young person using a wheelbarrow to transport two canisters of water across an arid climate. Stock photo.

It seems increasingly likely that the world will overshoot the Paris Agreement’s aspirational goal of 1.5°C of global mean temperature rise. A Perspective calls for research on the social and humanitarian impacts of climate overshoot. In PNAS Nexus: https://ow.ly/hNhX50Xx2pq

Positioning generative AI within human rights education: a scalable framework for inclusive disaster risk reduction and youth empowerment As global challenges like climate change and social inequities intensify, inclusive, rights-based education is increasingly urgent. Human rights education (HRE) empowers youth to understand and adv...

⭐️NEW article from Shuang Huang @jldevincenzo.bsky.social & Thomas Chandler @columbiauniversity.bsky.social on ⭐️positioning Gen AI in #HumanRightsEducation, addressing disaster risk reduction & youth #empowerment
⭐️AVAILABLE FREE ACCESS FOR A LIMITED PERIOD ONLY
Check it out!
doi.org/10.1080/2535...

Climate overshoot: What happens when the world gets too hot for too long? Passing 1.5 degrees will hurt people more. It shows how climate overshoot increases risks for food, health, cities, and fragile communities.

What happens when the world gets too hot for too long? Researchers at several institutions argue that climate overshoot will reshape risks for societies long before temperatures drift back down. ow.ly/F7za50XxEUV @wxpizza.bsky.social @climate.columbia.edu

... with the cost of doing nothing potentially creating tensions with the humanitarian principle of ‘do no harm', noted @wxpizza.bsky.social.

We must take action now, leveraging the momentum in the growth in acknowledgement of overshoot, such as at #COP30, to ensure adaptation strategies are in line with both pre- and post-peak disaster risk reduction priorities.

Societies Are Unprepared for the Human Costs of Climate Overshoot While scientists have made progress describing overshoot’s physical impacts, its humanitarian and social consequences need greater focus, say the authors.

✨ Societies are unprepared for the human costs of climate overshoot. Understanding how overshoot will affect people’s lives and livelihoods—before, during, and after disasters—must be part of climate planning, policy, and finance. ow.ly/L4LI50XtxVr @climate.columbia.edu

🌟 Congratulations to Justine Mach and Kenny Frias (CC '28) for their winning project at the DSI Research Fair, HarvestHub! This project is a collaboration with NCDP on integrating context-aware intelligence into climate disaster models. columbia-desdr.github.io @datascicolumbia.bsky.social

Earth observations for climate adaptation: tracking progress towards the Global Goal on Adaptation through satellite-derived indicators - npj Climate and Atmospheric Science npj Climate and Atmospheric Science - Earth observations for climate adaptation: tracking progress towards the Global Goal on Adaptation through satellite-derived indicators

✨ New paper: Examines the progress of climate adaptation towards global adaptation through satellite-derived indicators. ow.ly/kChb50Xq5By

@climate.columbia.edu @wxpizza.bsky.social @esa.int #COP30 #climateadaptation

After Hurricane Melissa, Jamaica’s climate resilience plan faces its biggest test yet Jamaica's $150 million “catastrophe bond” will help hurricane recovery, but experts hope financial markets will invest more in adaptation.

If companies are investing in catastrophe bonds, & they don’t want to see the payouts, then a better investment in preventing the disaster from beginning is the best way to protect that investment. We need it on all sides, noted Jeff Schlegelmilch. ow.ly/7gHn50XoovL @climate.columbia.edu @grist.org

@ncdp.bsky.social director Jeff Schlegelmilch shares his expectations for @cop30brazil.bsky.social on adaptation funding and Indigenous rights. 🦜 Learn more about our #COP30 events/coverage: www.climate.columbia.edu/cop30

YouTube video by Connecting America Tracking Hurricane Melissa

In the wake of #HurricaneMelissa making landfall in Jamaica, @ncdp.bsky.social climate scientist @wxpizza.bsky.social joins Connecting America to discuss recovery efforts and effects of this devastating Category 5 storm.

Melissa Devastates Jamaica as Officials Assess Destruction

"Before, during and after extreme weather events such as hurricanes, it is very common for underserved areas to lose electricity and infrastructure access first, and then regain those services last," says @ncdp.bsky.social climate scientist @wxpizza.bsky.social. Via @nytimes.com.

What Should Be in Your Bug-Out Bag, When the Disaster Comes? When disaster strikes, the stores often aren't open. We asked emergency preparedness experts for the essential gear in case of wildfires, earthquakes, and lord knows what else.

The biggest category people tend to neglect when thinking about emergency preparedness, @jonathansury.bsky.social noted, is intangibles. This can be a family communication plan, a prearranged meeting spot, prescription lists, and more. ow.ly/7y1350XiyAP @climate.columbia.edu @wired.com

YouTube video by CCCommissionVideo OneCape2025, Day 2 Plenary - Jeff Schlegelmilch

Disaster science is at the intersection of all the notes, and with that, the discovery is in the harmonics, noted Jeff Schlegelmilch. youtu.be/-NBIbywIe8U?... #disasterscience #managinguncertainty @climate.columbia.edu

10 Hurricane Season Essentials Experts Want You to Stock Up on to Stay Safe and Prepared Hurricane season is underway, and three experts share the 10 essentials you should always have ready. Learn more about these hurricane preparedness tips and supplies, like portable fans, battery-opera...

When it comes to post-hurricane survival, children are particularly vulnerable to disruptions in their routines during the uncertainty of disasters. Having a comfort item for them is critically important, noted Jeff Schlegelmilch. ow.ly/arWw50XcJtW @climate.columbia.edu