Author: drought-group

Last week, we marked the transition from the end of summer to the start of the academic year with our yearly drought group writing retreat. We rented a house in the forest and started writing. In the evenings, we enjoyed a yummy variety of home-cooked dinners, several fun games, and even a movie (about drought … Continue reading Drought group writing retreat

On December 2nd, the World Drought Atlas was officially launched by the UNCCD and the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission. Five of our IVM colleagues—Marthe Wens, Anne van Loon, Anne-Sophie Sabino Siemons, Alicja Grudnowska, and Hans de Moel—played a significant role in developing the Atlas, collaborating with the Italian CIMA Research Foundation and the … Continue reading Launch of the World Drought Atlas: A Wake-Up Call for Global Action

As the end of the year approaches, we’re proud to share that our colleagues Tim Busker and Shahana Bilalova have defended their PhD theses, marking the end of a remarkable chapter in their academic journeys! On November 7th, Tim defended his PhD thesis, "Anticipating Weather and Climate Extremes," in the Aula of VU Amsterdam. His … Continue reading Celebrating Our PhD Graduations!

Over the summer of 2024, our colleague Lotte Muller embarked on an ambitious research project to explore how Dutch boat owners are experiencing the impacts of summer drought. By distributing a survey, Lotte sought to uncover the drought related challenges boaters face and how they perceive these issues. For instance, closed sluis gates can cause increased wait … Continue reading Understanding the Impact of Drought on Dutch Boaters: Lotte Muller’s Field Research Journey

Amidst the heavy rains and gusty winds in Vienna, the PROCLIAS Working Group 4 (WG4) consisting of 20 members gathered from September 12th to 13th, 2024 for an inspiring and highly productive workshop at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA). Our group members Rhoda Odongo and Heidi Mendoza were there to collaborate on … Continue reading PROCLIAS WG4 Workshop: Reflecting on Climate Impact Data and Policy Actions Amidst Stormy Skies in Vienna

We are proud of the IVM Drought Group’s participation in the Drought Resilience +10 conference! The conference took place from September 30th to October 2nd at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) headquarters in Geneva. Organized by the WMO and the Global Water Partnership (GWP) as part of their Flood and Drought Management Programmes, this event … Continue reading The Drought Group’s Contributions at the Drought Resilience +10 Conference

Marthe Wens recently submitted her PhD thesis to the reading committee and it is approved for defense! In the same week, her 4th and last PhD paper was accepted in NHESS. Reasons to celebrate with a Vrijmibo (the Dutch after-work) – which unfortunately was held without Marthe (the next Covid-19 victim)… But soon we’ll celebrate … Continue reading What we achieve: Marthe’s PhD

Rhoda Odongo and Ileen Streefkerk, together with IVM colleague Tim Busker, are currently in Kenya for the Down2Earth project fieldwork, which will run for 2 months. We were joined by Anne van Loon in the first 2.5 weeks. We visited several stakeholders, mainly governmental institutions in agriculture, environment, climate and water sectors. Additionally, we were … Continue reading What we do: Rhoda, Anne & Ileen

by Danny Croghan What is the meaning of life? What came before the big bang? And how do green roofs mitigate water quality? Truly among life’s great questions. Today I will take you through my attempts to answer the third. Green roofs for those unaware are essentially roofs with vegetation planted on them. Though a … Continue reading Going Green (Roof)