Matthew Blackett, Coventry University

This call for contributions refers to a special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050) and is connected to the section Hazards and Sustainability.

The European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) and the National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service (NESDIS) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) both released lists of their top events, images, videos, and case studies during the year 2021.

On the 13th and 15th of January 2022 the underwater volcano on Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’pai, located in the South Pacific Kingdom of Tonga erupted. The eruption on the 15th of January 2022 was seven times more powerful than the first eruption of the volcano, which took place on the 20th of December 2021. Additionally, it led to a tidal gauge, resulting in a tsunami wave that impacted countries in the Pacific Ocean, from the Kingdom of Tonga, Australia and New Zealand, Japan, up to Peru, among others, on the other side of the Pacific.

UN-SPIDER's association with the International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) and contribution to the IAA Planetary Defense Conference 2021 has resulted in a landmark publication in the International Journal of Disaster Risk Science. Read the abstract or follow the provided links to find more information.

In 2021, disasters triggered by different types of hazards impacted developed and developing countries around the world. Different regions of the United States were impacted by tornados, hurricanes, heatwaves, oils spills, and forest fires.  Germany, Belgium, and Luxemburg saw unprecedented floods and other countries like India, Sudan, Togo, Sri Lanka, Somalia, Bolivia, and China also experienced floods.