Assessing drought risks, monitoring agricultural conditions Droughts are getting more severe and more frequent in Europe and worldwide. Adopting a forward-looking, proactive approach is essential to mitigate the impacts and enhance societal resilience. The JRC provides accurate, timely data to help assess and anticipate multi-sectorial drought risks. In 2024, JRC research on drought improved understanding of current and emerging risks, while offering actionable information on ongoing and expected droughts. The JRC’s advanced monitoring of agricultural conditions and of soil health also informed food security assessments in Europe and beyond. Impact at national levelHelps national authorities on crisis preparedness and societal resilience. The frequency of agricultural drought in Slovenia has been increasing over the past few decades. The JRC’s work, particularly through the European Drought Observatory and the World Drought Atlas, provides essential data and insights to help policymakers and communities anticipate, assess, and address the growing challenges of drought. Monitors and assesses drought risks The JRC delivers continuous, near-real-time drought information and data through the European and Global Drought Observatories, which are part of the Copernicus Emergency Management Service. The first edition of the JRC’s European Drought Risk Atlas, published in 2023, was a significant step towards impact-based drought assessment, addressing key socio-economic sectors and ecosystems. Building on this atlas, the JRC co-led with the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) the development of the first-ever World Drought Atlas which was also supported by several scientific partners and institutions. This atlas serves as a key resource for policymakers to take proactive action to manage drought risks.Dr. Andreja Sušnik confirms in her quote how this work helps address the growing challenges of droughts in Slovenia and worldwide. Tracks agricultural conditions and predicts crop yields Since 1992, the JRC’s Monitoring Agricultural Resources (MARS) Bulletins have been monitoring agricultural conditions and providing in-season yield forecasts. The JRC MARS Bulletins are used by farmers and governments to respond proactively to potential crises along the food chain. They inform the DG for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI) policy interventions relating to the common agricultural policy (CAP), by helping for instance to assess Member State requests to the agricultural reserve as a result of extreme weather. The JRC MARS Bulletins are considered a critical service in the context of the EU crisis preparedness and management tools, linked to informing the European Food Security Crisis preparedness and response mechanism (EFSCM). Informs food security assessments outside Europe The JRC develops and runs the global Anomaly Hot Spots of Agricultural Production (ASAP) platform, an early warning system that signals possible agricultural production anomalies that could affect food security. Thanks to the latest generation of satellite data and meteorological model outputs, it provides near real-time agricultural drought conditions warnings at the subnational level. In 2024, the ASAP system was upgraded with pre-operational yield forecasts based on machine learning, in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the University of Valencia. Contributes to soil health monitoring Soil damaged by droughts will lose its ability to absorb water effectively, exacerbating the risk of floods. In collaboration with the European Environment Agency, the JRC delivered a comprehensive assessment of the state of soil degradation across the EU in the 2024 State of Soils in Europe report. The report sets out the scale of the problem facing Europe today and aims to reinforce and build capacities among the soil research community. It draws on the excellent data collected by the JRC and the EU Soil Observatory (EUSO), which was presented in EUSO’s Soil Degradation Dashboard. Read the full report
Droughts are getting more severe and more frequent in Europe and worldwide. Adopting a forward-looking, proactive approach is essential to mitigate the impacts and enhance societal resilience. The JRC provides accurate, timely data to help assess and anticipate multi-sectorial drought risks. In 2024, JRC research on drought improved understanding of current and emerging risks, while offering actionable information on ongoing and expected droughts. The JRC’s advanced monitoring of agricultural conditions and of soil health also informed food security assessments in Europe and beyond.
