Hazards

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Stanford scholars are exploring the connection between plastic and disease, rethinking how plastic could be reused, and uncovering new ways to break down waste.

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.

A new report looks back at the most impactful environment and sustainability research from Stanford scholars in 2023.

Daniel Swain, PhD ’16, studies extreme floods. And droughts. And wildfires. Then he explains them to the rest of us.

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.

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.

Planetary Health Postdoctoral Fellow Alandra Lopez investigates toxins in the environment that affect the health of people living or working nearby.

New research from Stanford University shows wildfires can transform a natural element in soils into a cancer-causing and readily airborne metal known as chromium 6.

High-intensity, often catastrophic, wildfires have become increasingly frequent across the Western U.S. Researchers quantified the value of managed low-intensity burning to dramatically reduce the risk of such fires for years at a time.

Two new reports could help decision-makers allocate resources to mitigate the health impacts of wildfire in public TK-12 schools in California.

In a test of their new analysis tool, researchers show where “moving up” or “moving over” may make the most sense for those affected by the 2022 Pakistan flood, and what costs it would entail.

Stanford researchers examined how often Californians visit emergency departments and found that people tend to avoid the hospital on the smokiest days.

Stanford research reveals the rapidly growing influence of wildfire smoke on air quality trends across most of the United States. Wildfire smoke in recent years has slowed or reversed progress toward cleaner air in 35 states, erasing a quarter of gains made since 2000.

Studying the chemical secrets locked in coastal rocks, a geoscientist says we can know what coastlines looked like long ago and understand where they are headed tomorrow.

Minghao Qiu, a postdoctoral scholar in Earth system science and a Planetary Health Postdoctoral Fellow at the Stanford Center for Innovation in Global Health, discusses his work modeling how climate change might influence air pollution levels – and how increased air pollution from wildfires, dust, and the burning of fossil fuels might affect people’s health. 

Stanford research finds low-income communities in California face a “wildfire safety deficit” as a result of longstanding policies about who should pay to move power lines underground.

As sea levels rise and flooding becomes more frequent, many countries are considering a controversial strategy: relocation of communities. A Stanford analysis of planned relocations around the world reveals a blueprint for positive outcomes.