Hazards
Site news
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Our list includes a mix of favorites, high-impact stories, and some of our most-read research coverage from the past year.
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Rainy days are becoming less frequent but more intense across much of the planet because of climate change. Even in years with similar rainfall totals, plants fare differently when rain falls in fewer, bigger bursts, a new study shows.
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Stephen Luby and Jenna Forsyth have spent years examining the widespread presence of lead, including in some commonly consumed products. They discuss the prevalence of lead and share insights on food safety policies, education, and lead-free alternatives.
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A new play combines science and art to raise awareness about overlooked climate impacts and spark conversations to identify solutions.
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Stanford’s campus has become a living lab for testing innovative fire management techniques, from research on wildfire exposure risks to a cross-campus competition for students to develop wildfire-related solutions.
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U.S. tropical cyclones, including hurricanes, indirectly cause thousands of deaths for nearly 15 years after a storm. Understanding why could help minimize future deaths from hazards fueled by climate change.
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The Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment recently hosted a first-of-its-kind “boot camp” in which congressional staffers got a crash course from experts in climate, forestry, fire science, utilities, insurance, and other wildfire-related topics.
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Researchers have developed a sprayable gel that creates a shield to protect buildings from wildfire damage. It lasts longer and is more effective than existing commercial options.
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Researchers at Stanford and Colorado State University used machine learning to determine how much global warming has influenced extreme weather events in the U.S. and elsewhere in recent years. Their approach could change how scientists study and predict the impact of climate change on extreme weather.
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New research underscores the close relationship between dust plumes transported from the Sahara Desert in Africa and rainfall from tropical cyclones along the U.S. Gulf Coast and Florida.
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Stanford researchers are working to reveal secrets of a massive, intricate underground fungal network. The resulting knowledge could help scientists engineer fungi-plant interaction to store large amounts of carbon underground and break down toxins, such as plastics and pesticides, among other advances.
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A new study reveals social factors that increase the risk of dying from air pollution and finds stark racial disparities.
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Supported by a Sustainability Accelerator grant, a multidisciplinary team is exploring policy options such as prescribed burning with the goal of reducing wildfire risk in California.
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Researchers and collaborators in a densely populated California floodplain developed a way to help planners see how infrastructure designs, sea-level rise, and severe storms fueled by climate change will affect flood risk at the local level.
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Severe wildfires can drive chemical changes in soil that affect ecosystem recovery and risks to human health. A new study finds broader surveillance and modeling of these changes could inform strategies for protecting lives, property, and natural resources, and managing wildlife.
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Residents of the wildfire-choked San Joaquin Valley desperately want something done about their air quality – but they want researchers to approach the work in a new way.
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A new white paper from Stanford researchers analyzes Western investor-owned utilities’ wildfire mitigation plans, highlighting those that are leading the way and identifying steps utilities with exposure to wildfire risk should be taking.
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Stanford scholars are exploring the connection between plastic and disease, rethinking how plastic could be reused, and uncovering new ways to break down waste.
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Programs and policies that help households go beyond stocking up on food and medical supplies to invest in longer-term protections could overcome the risk perception gap and support adaptation to rising climate-related threats.
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A new report looks back at the most impactful environment and sustainability research from Stanford scholars in 2023.
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Daniel Swain, PhD ’16, studies extreme floods. And droughts. And wildfires. Then he explains them to the rest of us.
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A new Stanford study shows how the number and intensity of foreshocks accelerate dramatically just before major volcanic earthquakes. The information could help us understand earthquakes along major fault lines.
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When multiple atmospheric rivers hit California back-to-back, the economic damage from resulting rain and snowfall is three to four times higher than predicted from individual storms, a Stanford study finds. The insight could help water managers and disaster planners better prepare for future impacts of climate change.
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From a single footfall to catastrophic tremors, waves of impact are all around us. The researchers at the John A. Blume Earthquake Engineering Center study the world’s vibrations – big and small.
