Stahl et al. (2026) Towards an operational European Drought Impacts Database (EDID)

Identification

• Journal: Natural hazards and earth system sciences
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-02-20
• Authors: Kerstin Stahl, Kathrin Szillat, Veit Blauhut, Monika Bláhová, Lauro Rossi, Dario Masante, Andrea Toreti
• DOI: 10.5194/nhess-26-845-2026

Research Groups

• Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Freiburg, Germany
• Global Change Research Institute CAS, Brno, Czechia
• International Center for Environmental Monitoring, CIMA Research Foundation, Savona, Italy
• European Commission Joint Research Centre, Ispra, Italy

Short Summary

This paper details the development and implementation of the European Drought Impact Database (EDID) for operational application within the Copernicus European Drought Observatory, providing a comprehensive baseline of drought impacts across Europe and revealing spatial and temporal patterns. The study finds that agriculture, public water supply, and aquatic ecosystems are the most frequently impacted systems, with an increasing trend in reported impacts and severity over time.

Objective

• To gather and structure drought impact information for operational application, addressing challenges in harmonizing previous research efforts into a new, functional European Drought Impact Database (EDID).
• To establish an empirical baseline of drought impacts in Europe, specifically identifying the spatial and temporal patterns revealed by the EDID data.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Pan-European, with analyses at country and NUTS3 levels.
• Temporal Scale: 1970–2022, with a focus on trends and changes over this period.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Automated text classification using the ChatGPT application programming interface for gap-filling and processing online media content.
• Data sources:
  • Text-based reports and observer-based information from various sources (news media, government reports, scientific literature, NGO reports, first-hand observations).
  • Existing drought impact databases: European Drought Impact Report Inventory (EDII 1.0, EDII 2.0, EDII-Alps, EDII 2022), Czech Drought Monitor (Intersucho), Irish Drought Impact Database (IDID), DriDanube Drought impacts.
  • Semi-automatic web search in 24 European languages to identify and fill data gaps.
  • Manual classification and expert judgment for severity scoring and data harmonization.

Main Results

• EDID is the most comprehensive compilation of drought impact information across Europe since 1970, consolidating diverse datasets and new additions.
• Nine impacted systems are categorized: Agriculture (annual crops, permanent crops, livestock), Energy (hydropower, thermal), Inland navigation, Public water supply, and Ecosystems (terrestrial, aquatic).
• The three agricultural systems combined constitute the largest fraction of impact records (35%), with agriculture – annual crops being the largest single category (22%). Public water supply accounts for 28%, and ecosystems – aquatic for 19%.
• Over half of all impact records are classified as "severe," about one-third as "moderate," and slightly over 10% as "extreme" according to a newly introduced 3-level severity score.
• The number of impact records per year increased significantly after 2003, with generally higher numbers from 2011 onwards and peaks in 2015 and 2018, showing a trend towards more numerous and extremely severe impacts in recent years.
• Spatially, agriculture – annual crops impacts are relatively higher in southern and eastern Europe (e.g., Czechia, Spain, Italy), while public water supply impacts show higher relative values in France, the UK, Bulgaria, and Cyprus, with highest severity in Mediterranean countries.
• Extreme impacts in agriculture-annual crops and permanent crops are particularly noted in Spain, and in livestock farming in Scandinavian countries.
• Extreme severities in thermal energy are observed in Sweden, France, and Germany, and in inland navigation in the lower Danube countries and Poland.

Contributions

• Development and implementation of the first operational pan-European Drought Impact Database (EDID), integrated into the Copernicus European Drought Observatory.
• Harmonization and consolidation of diverse regional and research-based drought impact datasets into a single, structured, and publicly accessible platform.
• Provides a new, comprehensive baseline for assessing drought risks across Europe from an impact perspective, facilitating a transition from hazard-focused to risk-oriented drought management.
• Introduces a standardized 3-level drought impact severity classification for operational use, enhancing comparability and analysis.
• Supports the development and validation of impact-oriented forecasting models, including those boosted by AI methods.
• Establishes a framework for continuous updates through automatic media monitoring and community engagement, promoting a drought-resilient society.

Funding

• European Commission, Directorate-General for Environment (EDORA – Lot 1, grant no. 09200200.A092005/2021/862347/ENV.C.1)
• Grantová Agentura České Republiky (DynamicDrought, grant no. 23-520 08056S)
• University of Freiburg (open-access publication funding)

Citation

@article{Stahl2026Towards,
  author = {Stahl, Kerstin and Szillat, Kathrin and Blauhut, Veit and Bláhová, Monika and Rossi, Lauro and Masante, Dario and Toreti, Andrea},
  title = {Towards an operational European Drought Impacts Database (EDID)},
  journal = {Natural hazards and earth system sciences},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.5194/nhess-26-845-2026},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-26-845-2026}
}