Natural hazards articles from across Nature Portfolio

The cause of episodes of unrest at caldera volcanoes is often unclear. Analysis of the sulfur composition of gas emissions at Campi Flegrei in Italy suggests a magmatic origin of the recent unrest at this hazardous caldera.

Analysis of historical earthquake records and interseismic deformation across the East Anatolian Fault Zone suggests that coseismic slip in the 2023 earthquakes strongly corresponded to the slip deficits accumulated since the preceding major fault ruptures.

Extreme heat is increasing in magnitude and frequency, threatening human health. This Review assesses mortality risk associated with extreme heat, revealing that human thermal tolerances (that is, uncompensable thresholds) were crossed for ~2% and 21% of global land area for young adults and older adults, respectively, from 1994 to 2023.

The basaltic sub-Plinian eruptions of Ambae Volcano, Vanuatu, are driven by rapid magma ascent, due to high concentration of dissolved volatile. This conclusion is supported by satellite observations, alongside gas measurements and geochemical analyses.

Uptake of explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) methods in geoscience is currently limited. We argue that such methods that reveal the decision processes of AI models can foster trust in their results and facilitate the broader adoption of AI.

The cause of episodes of unrest at caldera volcanoes is often unclear. Analysis of the sulfur composition of gas emissions at Campi Flegrei in Italy suggests a magmatic origin of the recent unrest at this hazardous caldera.

In Derna, Libya, a record-breaking storm and subsequent dam failures on September 10, 2023, caused over 11,000 deaths. Analyzing satellite data from 2016–2023, we found 1.8 mm/yr of differential settlement in dams contributed to their failure, and flooding damaged ~8570 buildings. We argue that the interplay of aging infrastructure, political instability, climate change, and human decisions drove this disaster, stressing the need for a holistic ‘healthcare’ management approach to prevent future catastrophes.

Andrzej (41, Poland) asks Dr Katy Chamberlain about the frequency of the largest volcanic eruptions on Earth.

The year 2024 has once again been characterized by a large number of devastating climate-related hazards. While many of these events were likely to have been exacerbated by climate change, they also provide drastic reminders of the degree to which humans can influence whether a meteorological extreme develops into a disaster.