European vineyards and their cultural landscapes exposed to record drought and heat

CONTEXT: European vineyards, producing over 50% of the world 's wine and hosting significant cultural landscapes, face threats from climate change and related severe weather events. The summer of 2022, especially July, posed significant challenges due to extreme drought and high temperatures. However, this period also provided an opportunity to study how such events might involve viticulture in Europe and to explore mitigation solutions. OBJECTIVE: The objectives are (1) to characterize the severity of the extreme event of July 2022 in European wine regions regarding primary climatic parameters, (2) map vineyards at risk due to agricultural drought and high land surface temperature, and (3) discuss the role of various water-related interventions for mitigating similar events. METHODS: After identifying the locations of European vineyards using the Corine Land Cover 2018 (CLC2018), open-access satellite data were employed to: (1) assess anomalies in Maximum Air Temperature (NAT m ), Land Surface Temperature (LST), Precipitation (P), and Soil Moisture (SM) in July 2022 compared to long-term averages; (2) identify regions at higher risk that experienced extreme agricultural drought (Vegetation Health Index, VHI = Extreme) and LST > 35 degrees C. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: In July 2022, European vineyards experienced an average increase of 11% in NAT m , a 9% rise in LST, and a reduction of 47% in P and 30% in SM compared to historical averages. 18% of European vineyards were at risk of drought and excessive heat, particularly in Portugal (31%), France (27%), and Italy (21%), including 10 viticultural cultural landscapes. Findings highlight the urgent need for long-term sustainable water management practices over emergency interventions. This research supports informed decision -making, emphasizing that climate resilience is necessary for preserving the cultural heritage of Euro- pean wine -growing areas. SIGNIFICANCE: This research provides an overview of the dynamics of extreme events on viticulture at a con- tinental scale, promoting climate -aware viticultural systems and offering insight scalable to global viticulture under changing climatic conditions.