At the 4th Global Flood Forecasting & Monitoring Meeting of the Copernicus Emergency Management Service (CEMS), held online on 2 and 3 April 2025, SEED-FD contributed to the international dialogue on improving flood early warning and monitoring systems.
The event focused on the two central CEMS tools for global flood risk management: the Global Flood Awareness System (GloFAS), which provides early warnings for river floods worldwide, and the Global Flood Monitoring (GFM) tool, offering near real-time monitoring of flood events based on satellite data.
Vanessa Pedinotti, SEED-FD Project Coordinator from Magellium SAS, gave a keynote presentation on the research project’s vision and approach. The presentation began by outlining SEED-FD’s three key objectives, which address critical gaps in the CEMS Hydrological Forecast Modelling Chain:
- Improving the representation of complex hydrological processes
- Integrating Earth Observation and in-situ sensor data to optimize prediction accuracy
- Expanding the detection range of extreme flood and drought events
In addition, the project’s five study and validation basins were presented. These include the Danube and Bhima basins, selected for the current development phase, and the Juba-Shebelle, Niger, and Paraná basins, where SEED‑FD developments will be tested and refined under challenging, hydrologically diverse conditions.
SEED-FD’s communication activities were also highlighted, including the website and social media channels, to engage stakeholders across research, policy, and practice.
Expected outcomes of the project include:
- More accurate, real-time flood and drought forecasts for local authorities, water security actors, and humanitarian agencies, helping to protect vulnerable communities
- Improved tools for the scientific community working on hydrological modelling and forecasting
- Enhanced integration of Copernicus satellite data and innovative in-situ observations
- Increased public awareness through real case studies on flood and drought prevention
The presentation concluded with SEED-FD’s shared vision to have everyone, everywhere in the world protected by an early warning system.