Kick-off meeting of the Network of Drought Observatories in the EU

Droughts pose increasing risks in Europe and are an ever-bigger cause for concern as their impacts are being more frequently and severely felt across different sectors: agriculture, environment, energy, transport, human health, and more. As the effects of climate change start to take their toll, droughts are expected to become more intense and more frequent, and to affect several regions of the world at the same time.
The Copernicus CEMS European and Global Drought Observatories (EDO and GDO) monitor and forecast droughts at the European and Global scale. Many countries and institutions have also developed their own monitoring and forecasting services for specific regions and/or sectors. 
Recently, moving beyond the climate aspects of drought toward risks and impacts has become a key priority in monitoring and forecasting. This requires novel tools and methods, including optimal ways to combine different sources of information (from ground observations to remote sensing and other data) and benefit from opportunities now offered by Artificial Intelligence.
As droughts often affect broad regions, and multiple sectors and given the higher risks expected under climate change, an enhanced cooperation must be pursued. The EDORA network of drought observatories and experts seeks to build a community of practice to exchange information and expertise between researchers and drought observatories in the EU.
The two-day kick-off meeting on the 16th and 17th of June welcomed around 120 participants from 29 countries. The meeting highlighted how efforts to monitor and forecast droughts have been scaled up in the wake of recent droughts in the EU and beyond. 
In total 30 talks were organised. Some were focused on new developments in drought indicators and drought characterisation, drought impact and risk assessment. Others consisted in contributions by several drought observatories in the EU providing early warning and decision support for disaster risk management. These talks (whose presentations can be found here) and subsequent discussions provide the seedbed to further grow the EDO network and address technical and scientific needs and opportunities in drought monitoring in the EU and beyond.

Links:
EDORA: https://edo.jrc.ec.europa.eu/edora/
Kick-off Meeting: https://edo.jrc.ec.europa.eu/edora/documents/EDORA_kickoff_june22.html