Adaptive strategies to enhance water security and resilience in low- and middle-income countries: A critical review

Impact of temperature shocks on household water poverty in India

Climate change-induced temperature shocks disrupt the natural water balance and consequently intensify households' water poverty. In this study, we examine the impact of temperature shocks on households' water poverty in India using household-level data from two rounds of the India Human Development Survey (IHDS) and climate data from the India Meteorological Department. We find that additional days above 9 °C, especially above 33 °C, significantly increase households' water poverty. Furthermore, the impact of temperature shocks on households' water poverty is less severe in regions with higher historical temperature variability as compared to other regions with less temperature variability. These results highlight the need for targeted policies to enhance water infrastructure and adaptive strategies in response to climate-induced temperature shocks.

Lignin and Nanolignin: Next-Generation Sustainable Materials for Water Treatment

Water scarcity, contamination, and lack of sanitation are global issues that require innovations in chemistry, engineering, and materials science. To tackle the challenge of providing high-quality drinking water for a growing population, we need to develop high-performance and multifunctional materials to treat water on both small and large scales. As modern society and science prioritize more sustainable engineering practices, water treatment processes will need to use materials produced from sustainable resources via green chemical routes, combining multiple advanced properties such as high surface area and great affinity for contaminants. Lignin, one of the major components of plants and an abundant byproduct of the cellulose and bioethanol industries, offers a cost-effective and scalable platform for developing such materials, with a wide range of physicochemical properties that can be tailored to improve their performance for target water treatment applications. This review aims to bridge the current gap in the literature by exploring the use of lignin, both as solid bulk or solubilized macromolecules and nanolignin as multifunctional (nano)materials for sustainable water treatment processes. We address the application of lignin-based macro-, micro-, and nanostructured materials in adsorption, catalysis, flocculation, membrane filtration processes, and antimicrobial coatings and composites. Throughout the exploration of recent progress and trends in this field, we emphasize the importance of integrating principles of green chemistry and materials sustainability to advance sustainable water treatment technologies.

Assessing climate change risk and vulnerability among Bhil and Bhilala tribal communities in Madhya Pradesh, India: a multidimensional approach

Climate change presents significant risks to marginalized communities, particularly in tribal groups like the Bhil and Bhilala communities of Madhya Pradesh, India. Limited empirical studies have focused on the effects of climate change on tribes in India. This study aims to assess climate change risk and vulnerability among tribal communities, employing the modified Mann-Kendall (MMK) test to identify climate trends, a risk assessment framework based on the Intergovernmental panel on climate change sixth assessment report (IPCC-AR6), and multiple linear regression (MLR). The MMK test indicates an increasing trend in rainfall (MMK = 1.099) and temperature. However, household perceptions reveal a high awareness of climatic changes, with 97% of respondents reporting irregularity in rainfall and 98% documenting increased summer hot days. The risk assessment shows that Bhil households face higher risk (0.107) than Bhilala households (0.068), which is determined by higher exposure and sensitivity. MLR results further emphasize that 12 of 23 indicators significantly affect risk assessment (R-squared = 0.698), with climatic events (β = 0.015), housing structure (β = 0.07), and food security being key contributors. The findings indicate that long-term climate trends are already affecting tribal livelihoods. It calls for targeted adaptation strategies, incorporating enhanced infrastructure, crop diversification, and better access to climate information and government schemes.

Flooding in semi-unformal urban areas in North Africa: Environmental and psychosocial drivers

Urban flooding is recognized as a nature-driven disaster shaped by inherent factors such as climate, morphology, and hydrology, affecting vulnerability and flood exposure. While these factors play a paramount role, significant psychosocial intricate drivers are acknowledged, though they are challenging for prediction and assessment. This study delves into these drivers in a specific context, aiming to draw conclusions that extend beyond. It undertakes a comprehensive approach, integrating cloud-based Radar flood detection, analysis of flood causation patterns, and geostatistical analysis of a social survey based on cross-synthesis, contingency analysis, and structural equation modeling. In particular, we characterize the case of the coastal city of Tetouan in Morocco, which is representative in its environmental and socioeconomic settings to most cities in North Africa. It unraveled the nuanced interplay of psychosocial, economic, and territorial dynamics influencing flood exposure. The findings reveal how watershed location molds unique environmental exposures, steering nuanced, emotional, and behavioral responses among residents. Gender and education differentials reveal diverse perceptions and awareness of flood risks. Psychosocial intricacies come to the forefront, portraying education, income, and awareness as crucial mediators influencing cognitive and affective responses. Elevated education, increased income, and heightened awareness correlate with heightened perception and coping strategies. Findings reveal that risk perception significantly and differently influences risk acceptance, coping, and aversion through an array of identified key factors influencing coping strategies, mediating elements in flood damage relationships, and underscoring the pivotal role of perception in shaping responses to risk. Moreover, it found that lower risk acceptance leads to higher coping and aversion, and the latter positively affects coping, indicating that acceptance reduces the motivation to avoid the risk and decreases the willingness to adopt coping strategies to reduce the exposure. The outcomes carry critical implications for comprehending individual and collective social behaviors, informing strategies, and mitigating flood risk that apply at a wider context. It accentuates the inadequacy of relying solely on structural engineering for risk management, citing spatial constraints, misinformation, and lapses in prior-risk memory as compounding exposure challenges. This recognition catalyzes action, advocating tailored awareness campaigns, educational initiatives, and capacity-building programs, spotlighting the need for heightened individual profiles to enhance social understanding, engagement, and resilience. We anticipate profound insights, fostering a richer comprehension of urban flooding complexities and informing adaptive strategies on a broader scale.