Articles | Volume 25, issue 11
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-4475-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-4475-2025
Research article
 | 
12 Nov 2025
Research article |  | 12 Nov 2025

The 2022 drought needs to be a turning point for European drought risk management

Riccardo Biella, Anastasiya Shyrokaya, Monica Ionita, Raffaele Vignola, Samuel J. Sutanto, Andrijana Todorovic, Claudia Teutschbein, Daniela Cid, Maria Carmen Llasat, Pedro Alencar, Alessia Matanó, Elena Ridolfi, Benedetta Moccia, Ilias Pechlivanidis, Anne van Loon, Doris E. Wendt, Elin Stenfors, Fabio Russo, Jean-Philippe Vidal, Lucy Barker, Mariana Madruga de Brito, Marleen Lam, Monika Bláhová, Patricia Trambauer, Raed Hamed, Scott J. McGrane, Serena Ceola, Sigrid J. Bakke, Svitlana Krakovska, Viorica Nagavciuc, Faranak Tootoonchi, Giuliano Di Baldassarre, Sandra Hauswirth, Shreedhar Maskey, Svitlana Zubkovych, Marthe Wens, and Lena M. Tallaksen

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Review article: Drought as a continuum – memory effects in interlinked hydrological, ecological, and social systems
Anne F. Van Loon, Sarra Kchouk, Alessia Matanó, Faranak Tootoonchi, Camila Alvarez-Garreton, Khalid E. A. Hassaballah, Minchao Wu, Marthe L. K. Wens, Anastasiya Shyrokaya, Elena Ridolfi, Riccardo Biella, Viorica Nagavciuc, Marlies H. Barendrecht, Ana Bastos, Louise Cavalcante, Franciska T. de Vries, Margaret Garcia, Johanna Mård, Ileen N. Streefkerk, Claudia Teutschbein, Roshanak Tootoonchi, Ruben Weesie, Valentin Aich, Juan P. Boisier, Giuliano Di Baldassarre, Yiheng Du, Mauricio Galleguillos, René Garreaud, Monica Ionita, Sina Khatami, Johanna K. L. Koehler, Charles H. Luce, Shreedhar Maskey, Heidi D. Mendoza, Moses N. Mwangi, Ilias G. Pechlivanidis, Germano G. Ribeiro Neto, Tirthankar Roy, Robert Stefanski, Patricia Trambauer, Elizabeth A. Koebele, Giulia Vico, and Micha Werner
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 3173–3205, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-24-3173-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-24-3173-2024, 2024
Short summary
The 2022 Drought Shows the Importance of Preparedness in European Drought Risk Management
Riccardo Biella, Anastasiya Shyrokaya, Ilias Pechlivanidis, Daniela Cid, Maria Carmen Llasat, Marthe Wens, Marleen Lam, Elin Stenfors, Samuel Sutanto, Elena Ridolfi, Serena Ceola, Pedro Alencar, Giuliano Di Baldassarre, Monica Ionita, Mariana Madruga de Brito, Scott J. McGrane, Benedetta Moccia, Viorica Nagavciuc, Fabio Russo, Svitlana Krakovska, Andrijana Todorovic, Faranak Tootoonchi, Patricia Trambauer, Raffaele Vignola, and Claudia Teutschbein
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2073,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2073, 2024
Short summary

Cited articles

Avanzi, F., Munerol, F., Milelli, M., Gabellani, S., Massari, C., Girotto, M., Cremonese, E., Galvagno, M., Bruno, G., Morra di Cella, U., Rossi, L., Altamura, M., and Ferraris, L.: Winter snow deficit was a harbinger of summer 2022 socio-hydrologic drought in the Po Basin, Italy, Communications Earth and Environment, 5, 1–12, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01222-z, 2024. 
Bakke, S. J., Ionita, M., and Tallaksen, L. M.: The 2018 northern European hydrological drought and its drivers in a historical perspective, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 5621–5653, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-5621-2020, 2020. 
Bakke, S. J., Ionita, M., and Tallaksen, L. M.: Recent European drying and its link to prevailing large-scale atmospheric patterns, Scientific Reports, 13, 1–13, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-48861-4, 2023. 
Barendrecht, M. H., Matanó, A., Mendoza, H., Weesie, R., Rohse, M., Koehler, J., de Ruiter, M., Garcia, M., Mazzoleni, M., Aerts, J. C. J. H., Ward, P. J., Di Baldassarre, G., Day, R., and Van Loon, A. F.: Exploring drought-to-flood interactions and dynamics: A global case review, Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Water, https://doi.org/10.1002/WAT2.1726, 2024. 
Bartholomeus, R. P., van der Wiel, K., Van Loon, A. F., van Huijgevoort, M. H. J., van Vliet, M. T. H., Mens, M., Muurling-van Geffen, S., Wanders, N., and Pot, W.: Managing water across the flood-drought spectrum – experiences from and challenges for the Netherlands, Cambridge Prisms: Water, 1, 1–22, https://doi.org/10.1017/WAT.2023.4, 2023. 
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Short summary
The DitA (Drought in the Anthropocene) network's study on the 2022 European drought reveals growing risks, varied impacts, and fragmented, short-term management. Based on a survey of water managers, it explores risk, impacts, strategies, and their evolution. While challenges persist, signs of improvement show readiness for change. The authors call for a European Drought Directive to unify and guide future drought risk management.
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