Drought across Europe: Different approaches, one shared goal – a more water-resilient future
Climate resilience is not a one-size-fits-all task. WATERGRID is starting an informal cluster with fellow Horizon Europe projects to show how many fronts Europe is working on.
Following an exceptionally dry summer, drought conditions remain critical across large parts of Europe. From low river levels and declining soil moisture to growing pressure on agriculture, ecosystems and water supply, the impacts highlight an urgent need for more resilient water management.
According to the European Drought Observatory, drought warnings and alerts persisted across much of western and central Europe in September 2026.
Tackling these challenges requires more than individual solutions. It calls for combining technological innovation, nature-based solutions, sustainable land management and community engagement.
Across the Horizon Europe ecosystem, several projects are addressing different but complementary aspects of this challenge. While WATERGRID focuses on the smart management layer and digital frameworks for water systems, our peers are driving critical work on other vital fronts:
Who is in the spotlight
ROTATES Project
is boosting agrobiodiversity and sustainable farming practices.
Sleeping Beauty EU Project
is merging nature-based solutions with local communities and the New European Bauhaus values.
PROSPER project
is pioneering circular and sustainable resource models.
SpongeWorks
is restoring large-scale landscape water retention features and verifying the value of wetlands.
NBS4Drought
focuses on developing tools and policies to advance cost-effective use of wetlands and nature-based solutions for drought resilience.