The nations successfully protecting themselves against disasters
With burgeoning populations facing ever more extreme weather patterns, mitigating against the impact of natural hazards has never been more important
Selected stories
Features
Tremors at Europe's largest active volcanic caldera
Magma and volcanic gases are increasingly active at Campi Flegrei, near Naples, where hundreds of thousands would be at risk from an eruption
Gone wild: is wildlife tourism out of control?
Wildlife tourism is booming, but many conservationists fear poor regulation and management is putting undue pressure on the animals and even placing tourists at risk
A deadly end for malaria
Progress on reducing malaria deaths stalled 10 years ago. Bryony Cottam reports on a new gene-editing approach that could provide a significant breakthrough
How citizen scientists are helping to map the world's biodiversity
Bryony Cottam joins an expedition collecting environmental DNA in Finland as part of an ambitious plan to build a biodiversity atlas
The world in their hands
Bryony Cottam visits Bellerby & Co, one of only a handful of firms making handcrafted globes
Interviews
Saving raffelsia - the world's largest flower
It smells of rotting flesh, spends most of its life as a parasite inside another plant and, when it blooms, it’s the world’s largest flower. Bryony Cottam talks to Chris Thorogood about his quest to safeguard the rafflesia
An ocean of opportunity
Helen Scales talks about her latest book, Around the Ocean in 80 Fish & Other Sea Life, the blue economy and our complex relationship with marine life
Shining a light on Earth's shrinking ice sheets
The demise of Britain’s last ice sheet holds clues to future sea-level rise, geographer Geraint Jenkins explains to Bryony Cottam
Would we survive a mass extinction?
Thomas Halliday, author of Otherlands, discusses the traits that help determine whether species become extinct or survive, and how the rules change during mass extinctions
Short reads
Dam removal restores flows to historic Klamath River canyon
The planned removal of four ageing dams on the Klamath River in the western USA is a turning point for largescale river restoration projects
US levee failures much more likely to affect vulnerable communities
Nationwide, disadvantaged US populations are most likely to live behind ageing and inadequate flood-protection infrastructures
Rivers of mud: the global legacy of artisanal mining
Artisanal mining is booming in the tropics – and it’s leaving environmental degradation in its wake
More than half the world's biodiversity lives in our soil
New research reveals that we’ve greatly underestimated the number of species that live underground
Is timber the solution for decarbonising construction?
Using timber for housing could save 106 gigatonnes of carbon emissions, but challenges lie in having a sustainable supply
Is lab-grown meat the future of agriculture?
A new breakthrough in lab-grown meat takes agriculture another step away from the farm
The rise of the digital nomad
For years, people have asked whether digital nomadism might become the new normal. There are signs that it already is
Diving into the twilight zone
Scientists are searching the ocean floor for strange and undiscovered deep-sea forests, hoping to safeguard them before it’s too late
Landslides are pulling the Congolese city of Bukavu apart
Rapid unplanned urban sprawl is accelerating a landslide beneath one of Central Africa’s most populous cities
Egypt takes first steps in ambitious plan to regreen the Sinai Desert
Could dredging Egypt’s degraded Bardawil Lake restore rain to the arid Sinai Peninsula?
Are we prepared for a major volcanic eruption?
The threat posed by a major volcanic eruption is largely ignored, but there are ways to reduce the risks
Wild bison return to the UK with surprising results
Britain’s first bison in 6,000 years have already begun to make their mark on their new woodland home
Yemen's ticking time bomb: the oil storage ship FSO Safer
Time is running out to avert a preventable catastrophe involving the FSO Safer, one which would have devastating consequences for the people of Yemen
Animals that spread seeds are essential - and under threat
As animal species decline, plants that rely on them to spread their seeds could struggle to adapt to a changing climate
Earth's magnetic poles may flip – but not yet
Despite some unusual data, a new study of the Earth’s magnetic field suggests that the poles are unlikely to flip for a long time
How minerals reveal the secrets of Earth's history
Studying the ways in which minerals change over time could shine a light on unanswered questions about the history of the Earth
Ecoacoustics is being used to detect invasive species in water systems
Ecoacoustics is being trialled in ponds and streams to search for any aquatic species that shouldn’t be there
Cryopreservation and nature's SAFE
Cryopreservation could offer a future for the world’s most endangered species
The weird creatures inhabiting the lava tubes of Hawaii
Unearthing the endemic Hawaiian species that have adapted to life below ground inside lava tubes
The rising levels of internally displaced people
The combination of conflict and natural disasters has resulted in unprecedented levels of internally displaced people
Air pollution: the UK's silent killer
Air pollution in the UK is ‘the greatest environmental risk to public health’, so why aren’t government targets more ambitious?
Searching for evidence of the Anthropocene
Crawford Lake chosen from twelve sites worldwide as the ‘Golden Spike’ that could mark the beginning of a new geological age
Water scarcity in Africa a 'myth'
Researchers debunk the myth that water in Africa is scarce, blaming poor management of existing reserves instead
Groundbreaking discovery suggests some earthquakes alter tectonic plates
New research into earthquakes suggests that they are both affected by and affect tectonic plates
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About Me
Bryony is a journalist and staff writer at Geographical, where she writes about science, the environment and human stories