As we close 2025, we look back on a year shaped by impactful research, regional collaboration, and meaningful engagement with communities across Southeast Asia. From advancing geohazard science to strengthening climate resilience, the Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS) has continued to address some of the most pressing geohazards and climate challenges facing Singapore and the wider region.
Advancing research for a safer and more resilient region
Research at EOS has remained anchored in three major interdisciplinary programmes focused on
understanding geohazards,
addressing sea-level rise, and
accelerating innovative climate solutions. Together, these programmes aim to strengthen preparedness, inform policy, and support long-term resilience.
In geohazard research, EOS scientists made significant advances in understanding earthquake and volcanic risks. Notably, researchers
identified distinctive energy-release patterns in foreshocks that can serve as precursors to large earthquakes, improving our ability to recognise early warning signals. Another impactful study r
anked cities most exposed to volcanic hazards and found Bandung, Indonesia, to be the most exposed, with nearly nine million people living within 30 kilometres of up to 12 volcanoes.
EOS climate research also delivered important findings with direct public-health implications. Our scientists
tested the performance of climate models used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and found that, with stricter air-pollution controls,
Southeast Asia could prevent up to 36,000 ozone-related premature deaths annually by 2050.
Observing hazards, Responding to disasters
The EOS Centre for Geohazard Observations carried out extensive fieldwork to install and maintain monitoring stations across Southeast Asia. This included missions to Indonesia to service stations at Gede and Anak Krakatau, in close collaboration with the Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (CVGHM).
EOS continued to support disaster response efforts across the region. The
EOS Remote Sensing Lab produced rapid damage-proxy and flood-proxy maps for areas affected by earthquakes and floods, including the Myanmar earthquake and multiple typhoons in the Philippines. Our scientists also provided expert commentary on high-profile seismic events, such as the sequence of earthquakes that struck Malaysia in August 2025.