Part 2: Dry weather-related disasters

Wildfire and droughts are escalating from seasonal hazards into full-blown crises, threatening ecosystems, economies and lives. Wildfires, fueled by hotter temperatures and drier landscapes, now rage with unprecedented ferocity. Fortunately, innovation is rapidly advancing technologies for early detection, from artificial intelligence (AI)-powered satellites to thermal drones and digital twins (virtual models that simulate real-world systems or processes) that predict fire behavior. Meanwhile, prolonged droughts are destabilizing food and water systems, pushing communities to innovate with drought-resistant crops, atmospheric water harvesters and smart irrigation networks.

The chapters in this section explore cutting-edge solutions, from firefighting robots and biodegradable retardants to CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palixndromic repeats)-engineered crops and underground water mapping. These solutions enable us to confront the growing challenges of dry-weather extremes in a changing climate.