Global synthesis of peer-reviewed articles reveals blind spots in climate impacts research

Global synthesis of peer-reviewed articles reveals blind spots in climate impacts research | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Global synthesis of peer-reviewed articles reveals blind spots in climate impacts research Tais Maria Nunes Carvalho, Andreas Niekler, Christian Kuhlicke, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6095740/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Understanding how climate hazards such as floods, droughts, and storms turn into disasters requires detailed socioeconomic impact data. While extensive research documents these impacts, the rapid growth of the literature hinders effective synthesis. Here, we present the first global stocktake of scientific literature on the socioeconomic impacts of climate hazards by systematically screening over 59,000 open-access articles using machine learning. We find significant regional biases in how impacts are documented: disasters in low-income countries must cause about 16 times more deaths and affect 130 times more people to receive the same scientific attention as those in high-income countries. When adjusting for the population exposure to climate hazards, about 32% of the countries in the Global South suffer from under-reporting, compared to only 16% in the Global North. Moreover, indirect and cascading impacts-such as disruptions to communication systems, supply chain breakdowns, and societal conflicts-are rarely studied. These blind spots underscore the need for more inclusive and equitable research efforts that prioritize vulnerable regions to better understand and prevent the impacts of climate hazards. Earth and environmental sciences/Natural hazards Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental social sciences climate extremes hazard impacts evidence synthesis natural language processing Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files SupplementaryInformation.pdf Supplementary Information Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6095740","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":425559060,"identity":"e3feacea-4397-4541-9234-854807cd0de2","order_by":0,"name":"Tais Maria Nunes 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While extensive research documents these impacts, the rapid growth of the literature hinders effective synthesis. Here, we present the first global stocktake of scientific literature on the socioeconomic impacts of climate hazards by systematically screening over 59,000 open-access articles using machine learning. We find significant regional biases in how impacts are documented: disasters in low-income countries must cause about 16 times more deaths and affect 130 times more people to receive the same scientific attention as those in high-income countries. When adjusting for the population exposure to climate hazards, about 32\\% of the countries in the Global South suffer from under-reporting, compared to only 16\\% in the Global North. Moreover, indirect and cascading impacts-such as disruptions to communication systems, supply chain breakdowns, and societal conflicts-are rarely studied. 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