Repository of problems worth solving
World Solve is a public institutional repository for identifying real unresolved problems across science, society, health, governance, economics, and local systems. Each entry is intended to be citable, inspectable, and actionable.
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4194Total
4194Open
0Solved
10Humans
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
The solar magnetic dynamo flip drives the solar activity cycle, but we cannot accurately predict cycle strength decades in advance. High-resolution solar interior magnetohydrodynamic models are required.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
magnetic
solar
not
have
comprehensive
model
explaining
periodic
reversal
sun
whether
science-space
haven
philosophy-ethics
mathematics-logic
know
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Solar panels provide zero power during the two-week lunar night, where temperatures drop to -130°C. Regenerative fuel cells and compact nuclear reactors tailored for long lunar nights are required.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
lunar
night
lack
autonomous
long-life
surface
energy
storage
14-day-long
operations
solar
science-space
power
small
businesses
open
Global / Unspecified, Global
Solar sails require ultra-thin, kilometer-wide polymer films that cannot be safely deployed without tangling or tearing. Zero-g robotic vapor deposition or automated truss deployment frames must be engineered.
climate-environment
global-unspecified
cannot
solar
sails
efficiently
manufacture
mega-scale
lightweight
orbit
require
ultra-thin
whether
africa
infrastructure
waste
mathematics-logic
battery
In archipelagic nations like the Philippines, vulnerable households repeatedly lose livestock, crops, and home infrastructure to severe seasonal storms. Standard microfinance models often default during disasters, compounding debt cycles rather than relieving poverty.
climate-environment
asia
philippines
poverty
haven
developed
climate-resilient
financial
instruments
prevent
coastal
communities
falling
global-unspecified
economics-resources
whether
philosophy-ethics
resolved
The Mekong and Ganges-Brahmaputra deltas are experiencing severe saltwater intrusion, rendering traditional rice paddies unproductive. Alternative crop strains and soil remediation techniques have not been deployed at the scale needed to sustain millions of farming households.
climate-environment
asia
bangladesh
soil
deltas
haven
successfully
mitigated
salinization
agricultural
river
impacted
sea-level
global-unspecified
philosophy-ethics
way
whether
mathematics-logic
Seasonal crop burning, industrial emissions, and vehicle exhaust generate high concentrations of PM2.5 across the Indo-Gangetic Plain, shaving years off average life expectancy without unified cross-border environmental governance.
climate-environment
asia
nepal
air-pollution
haven
effectively
mitigated
life-shortening
particulate
air
pollution
major
south
asian
global-unspecified
quality
urban
african
Rapid installation of solar and wind capacity in countries like Vietnam and India frequently faces grid curtailment because high-voltage transmission lines and grid-scale battery storage are insufficiently developed.
climate-environment
asia
india
developed
grid
haven
scalable
architectures
integrate
intermittent
renewable
power
aging
global-unspecified
solar
energy
local-regional
whether
Over a billion people in Asia still rely on wood, dung, and coal for daily cooking, causing severe indoor air pollution and chronic respiratory illnesses, primarily affecting women and young children.
climate-environment
asia
myanmar
air-pollution
cooking
haven
replaced
dangerous
traditional
biomass
fuels
remote
rural
households
global-unspecified
health-biology
remains
reducing
Bridges, ports, and power stations across island nations are built with conventional standards that fail during combined seismic events, storm surges, and landslides, cutting off entire island populations from emergency relief.
climate-environment
asia
philippines
haven
created
modular
infrastructure
capable
withstanding
compound
disaster
hazards
pacific-asian
island
remote
communities
economics-resources
philosophy-ethics
Metropolises like Jakarta, Bangkok, and Manila are sinking faster than global sea levels are rising. Engineering solutions like sea walls only buy time while urban land-use policies fail to stop illegal extraction.
climate-environment
asia
indonesia
haven
halted
physical
land
subsidence
caused
groundwater
over-extraction
rapidly
growing
urban
global-unspecified
cities
whether
african
Despite international treaties, millions of metric tons of toxic e-waste are illegally imported into East and Southeast Asian informal processing hubs, contaminating local ecosystems and harming workers' health.
climate-environment
asia
malaysia
asian
haven
curbed
illegal
transboundary
shipment
electronic
waste
developing
nations
global-unspecified
economics-resources
african
workers
informal
Global warming is causing Himalayan glaciers to melt rapidly, expanding high-altitude glacial lakes. When natural dams breach, catastrophic floods destroy downstream mountain settlements without adequate real-time warning systems.
climate-environment
asia
nepal
warning
systems
glacial
floods
haven
developed
scalable
early
lake
outburst
society-governance
real
time
technology-computing
economics-resources
Decades of aquaculture expansion destroyed vast mangrove ecosystems. Current restoration efforts suffer from low sapling survival rates and conflicts with commercial shrimp farming interests.
climate-environment
asia
thailand
mangrove
haven
scale-restored
degraded
forests
protect
coastal
zones
ocean
acidification
along
restoring
global-unspecified
restoration
whether
Critical peatlands and ancient rainforests in Sumatra and Kalimantan are continuously drained and burned for monoculture crops, releasing vast carbon reservoirs and driving endangered species like orangutans toward extinction.
climate-environment
asia
indonesia
deforestation
monoculture
haven
contained
rapid
tropical
driven
oil
palm
rubber
philosophy-ethics
global-unspecified
have
don
species
Unsustainable grazing and land degradation in the Gobi and Taklamakan deserts trigger toxic dust storms that sweep thousands of miles, destroying topsoil, damaging infrastructure, and worsening air quality across Northeast Asia.
climate-environment
asia
united-states
dust
storms
haven
halted
sand
sds
spreading
expanding
desertification
global-unspecified
african
access
economics-resources
land
parts
Riparian countries along shared river basins frequently restrict meteorological and hydrological data due to national security concerns, impeding joint flood prediction and climate resilience efforts.
climate-environment
asia
india
climate
haven
established
transparent
cross-border
data-sharing
agreements
regional
adaptation
modeling
society-governance
global-unspecified
methods
under
resilience
Divergent definitions of 'sustainable investments' across regional stock exchanges allow carbon-intensive industries to access green bond financing without verified emissions reductions.
climate-environment
asia
singapore
green
haven
harmonized
taxonomy
standards
asian
capital
markets
eliminate
greenwashing
african
remains
africa
global-unspecified
education
In Mongolia and Central Asia, winter disaster phenomena ('dzuds') freeze pasturelands, killing millions of livestock and forcing nomadic herders into impoverished urban shantytowns without transition support.
climate-environment
asia
mongolia
nomadic
livestock
haven
modernized
traditional
pastoral
management
survive
severe
extreme
urban
health-biology
global-unspecified
established
economics-resources
open
United Arab Emirates, Asia
Thermal and reverse-osmosis desalination across West Asian coastal regions consumes immense fossil fuel resources and discharges hypersaline brine back into marine ecosystems, harming coral reefs.
climate-environment
asia
united-arab-emirates
renewable-energy
desalination
west
asian
haven
developed
affordable
tech
powered
renewable
energy
brine
ocean
governance
global-unspecified
Rising sea levels and severe droughts force rural families to migrate into overcrowded urban slums where municipal infrastructure cannot absorb them, leading to social friction and extreme vulnerability.
climate-environment
asia
bangladesh
urban
haven
created
effective
reintegration
pathways
millions
internal
climate
refugees
cities
society-governance
economics-resources
change
african