Across multiple sessions, discussions highlighted how innovation in in-situ sensing, satellite observations, and low-energy monitoring systems can support more resilient and sustainable climate adaptation strategies.

A central moment of the week was the Townhall Meeting on in-situ observations in hard-to-reach environments, convened on behalf of CiROCCO EU Project and the DEAL Cluster. The session brought together seven Horizon Europe sister projects: CiROCCO EU Project, EULIAA project, RemoTrees, TEMBO Africa, UAWOS, SYLVA, and MISO.

Despite working across deserts, wetlands, rivers, remote forests, polar regions, and areas with limited infrastructure, participants identified remarkably similar operational challenges: communication constraints, energy intermittency, sensor reliability, deployment logistics, interoperability, data validation, and long-term sustainability of monitoring systems.

The discussion reinforced the value of stronger collaboration and knowledge exchange across domains, particularly as climate extremes intensify globally.

Special thanks were extended to contributors including Michael Strotkamp, Martin Flügge, Luca Belelli Marchesini, Nick van de Giesen, Yuliia Palamarchuk, Zhen Zhou, and Tuan-Vu Cao for supporting a highly constructive exchange.

Another important focus at #EGU26 was the expanding role of Global Navigation Satellite System technologies in environmental monitoring. Beyond navigation, systems such as Galileo operated by European Space Agency, alongside GPS, GLONASS, and BeiDou, are increasingly used to monitor atmospheric water vapour, soil moisture, water levels, and dam safety.

Within TEMBO Africa, GNSS is often described as a “Swiss Army Knife” because of its versatility in supporting climate and hydrological monitoring applications across Africa. Long-term collaboration between GReD and Delft University of Technology has contributed significantly to pioneering these applications in regions where resilient monitoring infrastructure is critically needed.

The week also highlighted broader efforts to strengthen climate resilience through environmental data and early warning systems. Through initiatives such as TAHMO and the EU-funded TEMBO Africa programme, partners including Rainbow Sensing, HKV lijn in water, Ghana Meteorological Agency, MicroStep-MIS, and International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies are supporting Flood Early Warning Systems in Tanzania, Ghana, and Kenya under the UN’s Early Warnings for All agenda.

At the same time, academic partnerships involving Delft University of Technology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, University of Amsterdam, Leiden University, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Wageningen University & Research, and the GROW in Research initiative continue to support African researchers working on climate, water, food, health, energy, mobility, and resilience challenges.

A key message throughout the week was clear: some of the places most impacted by climate change remain among the least observed. Strengthening observation systems in these environments is not only a scientific challenge, but also a critical step toward equitable climate adaptation and sustainable development.