What new developments and insights are emerging in avalanche and glacier research? These and other questions will be addressed in a DRR Stammtisch webinar hosted by DCNA on February 25, 2026 (starting at 11:30 am).

The event is called

Innovative (Monitoring) Strategies and Developments in Avalanche and Glacier Research for Disaster Preparedness

and is aimed at researchers, emergency responders, and mountain rescue professionals. The webinar will focus, among other things, on

• how climate-driven changes such as rising temperatures, thawing permafrost, and glacier retreat are reshaping existing hazard situations,
• which new extreme events are emerging that exceed past experience, and what this means for risk assessment and disaster management,
• how science, monitoring institutions, and public authorities can work together more effectively to translate new insights into timely and effective action in a rapidly changing climate.

The agenda includes two keynote presentations by Andrea Fischer (ÖAW – Austrian Academy of Sciences) and Jan-Thomas Fischer (BFW – Austrian Research Centre for Forests), followed by a Q&A session. The webinar will be moderated by the coordinators of the DCNA working group on mass movements, avalanches, and earthquakes - Christian Zangerl (BOKU University) and Barbara Schneider-Muntau (University of Innsbruck).

The lunch talk series is jointly organized by the French Association for Natural Disaster Risk Reduction (AFPCNT), Disaster Competence Network Austria (DCNA), the Swiss National Platform for Natural Hazards (PLANAT), and the German Committee for Disaster Preparedness (Deutsches Komitee Katastrophenvorsorge e.V.). The aim of the series is to strengthen European exchange on disaster preparedness, resilience, and best practices.

If you would like to take part, please register via MS Teams: