GRF · Regional cooperation
Europe and Eurasia region
Europe and Eurasia run on interconnected power, gas, data and transport systems, linked to Asia through the Caucasus and Central Asian corridors. The Iberian blackout of April 2025 showed how fast a grid event reaches hospitals, transport and communications. EU rules on critical entities and network security fell due for transposition in October 2024. The region is forming; four hubs are planned, none operates. GRF’s location in Switzerland does not make Switzerland a regional host.
Europe and Eurasia region on the record.
- 01InstitutionThe Global Risks Forum (GRF)
- 02Shared systemsQuestions that cross borders in Europe and Eurasia
- 03Frameworks in forceA dense web of binding rules
- 04Dialogue questionsQuestions for the region’s interconnected systems
- 05Planned hubsCoordination roles, not offices
- 06GRF’s roleLeadership, dialogue and tested arrangements in the region
- 07State and boundariesWhat is in place, and what is not
Questions that cross borders in Europe and Eurasia.
| Shared system | Question for regional work |
|---|---|
| Interconnected power and gas networks | Which interconnectors, storage levels and weather regimes create cross-border cascading risk during the energy transition? |
| Danube, Rhine and Central Asian basins | How do drought, navigation, cooling-water needs and irrigation interact across shared rivers? |
| Continental and Middle Corridor logistics | Where do rail, road, port and pipeline routes concentrate exposure between Europe and Asia? |
| Heat, wildfire and flood | Which health, infrastructure and agricultural systems fail together under compound heat and flood events? |
| Data centres and digital interdependence | How concentrated are cloud, data-centre power and subsea connectivity, and what does continuity require? |
These are research questions from the regional programme design maintained by the Consortium Secretariat. They are questions to test, not findings, and no result is published for them yet.
Water now in Europe.
Night lights, flood water, rain and population density over Europe, from NASA GIBS. Each layer carries its own date.
The interactive map needs JavaScript; the layer list and sources are below.
Layers 4
Water now, for this page
About this layer
- Evidence
- Observed
- Source
- VIIRS Black Marble (VNP46A2) (NASA LAADS DAAC)
- Provider
- NASA LAADS DAAC
- Licence
- NASA open data
- Vintage
- daily; Satellite radiance, corrected for moonlight and atmosphere
- Newest at build
- 2026-10-12
- Resolution
- about 500 m grid
- Uncertainty
- Satellite night-time radiance for the date shown; lights are a proxy for electricity use and outages, not a measurement of supply or access.
- Reached through
- this site's data relay, from gibs.earthdata.nasa.gov
About this layer
- Evidence
- Observed (clouds leave gaps)
- Source
- VIIRS Global Flood Product (NASA LANCE)
- Provider
- NASA LANCE
- Licence
- NASA open data
- Vintage
- daily; Satellite detection; clouds leave gaps
- Newest at build
- 2026-10-14
- Resolution
- about 250 m grid
- Uncertainty
- Satellite detection; clouds leave gaps. Satellite or model raster as the provider publishes it. Clouds, swath gaps and retrieval error leave gaps and noise; values are indicators, not measurements at a place.
- Reached through
- this site's data relay, from gibs.earthdata.nasa.gov
About this layer
- Evidence
- Estimated
- Source
- GPM IMERG (NASA GES DISC)
- Provider
- NASA GES DISC
- Licence
- NASA open data
- Vintage
- daily; Satellite estimate, near real time
- Newest at build
- 2026-10-12
- Resolution
- about 2 km grid
- Uncertainty
- Satellite estimate, near real time. Satellite or model raster as the provider publishes it. Clouds, swath gaps and retrieval error leave gaps and noise; values are indicators, not measurements at a place.
- Reached through
- this site's data relay, from gibs.earthdata.nasa.gov
About this layer
- Evidence
- Estimated
- Source
- Gridded Population of the World v4.11 (NASA SEDAC (CIESIN, Columbia University))
- Provider
- NASA SEDAC (CIESIN, Columbia University)
- Licence
- CC BY 4.0
- Vintage
- null; Census-based estimate, static (2020)
- Resolution
- about 1 km grid
- Uncertainty
- Census-based estimate of people per square kilometre in 2020, shown as exposure context; not a count of people affected by any hazard.
- Reached through
- this site's data relay, from gibs.earthdata.nasa.gov
About this layer
- Evidence
- Modelled
- Source
- SMAP Level 4 (NASA NSIDC DAAC)
- Provider
- NASA NSIDC DAAC
- Licence
- NASA open data
- Vintage
- daily; Model with satellite data assimilated
- Newest at build
- 2026-10-11
- Resolution
- about 2 km grid
- Uncertainty
- Model with satellite data assimilated. Satellite or model raster as the provider publishes it. Clouds, swath gaps and retrieval error leave gaps and noise; values are indicators, not measurements at a place.
- Reached through
- this site's data relay, from gibs.earthdata.nasa.gov
About this layer
- Evidence
- Observed (latest month GIBS publishes)
- Source
- GRACE-FO JPL mascons (NASA JPL PO.DAAC)
- Provider
- NASA JPL PO.DAAC
- Licence
- NASA open data
- Vintage
- monthly; Satellite gravimetry; latest month GIBS publishes
- Newest at build
- 2022-07-01
- Resolution
- about 2 km grid
- Uncertainty
- Satellite gravimetry; latest month GIBS publishes. Satellite or model raster as the provider publishes it. Clouds, swath gaps and retrieval error leave gaps and noise; values are indicators, not measurements at a place.
- Reached through
- this site's data relay, from gibs.earthdata.nasa.gov
Keyboard, with the map focused
Hold Ctrl or ⌘ and scroll to zoom
Latest available
NASA GIBS / EOSDIS · ASTER GDEM (METI, NASA) · Blue Marble (NASA) · © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Natural Earth
Loading the latest NASA imagery.
Drag to move. Ctrl or ⌘ and scroll, pinch or the buttons to zoom; hover for the values under the pointer; reset returns to the region.
Water now, framed on Europe.Satellite and model products as NASA publishes them, each with its own date. They are indicators, not assessments of any place.
Data: NASA GIBS · ASTER GDEM · Blue Marble · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Natural Earth · NASA EONET · NASA GPM IMERG Early · U.S. Geological SurveySources and licences
- We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA’s Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA’s Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA’s Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA’s Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- VIIRS Black Marble night-time lights, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; distributed by the NASA Level-1 and Atmosphere Archive and Distribution System (LAADS DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- VIIRS near-real-time products (flood, land surface temperature, snow cover, corrected reflectance), NASA LANCE; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- GPM IMERG precipitation, NASA Precipitation Processing System; distributed by the NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Columbia University. 2018. Gridded Population of the World, Version 4 (GPWv4): Population Density, Revision 11. NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). doi:10.7927/H49C6VHW. CC BY 4.0
- SMAP Level 4 soil moisture and snow mass, NASA Global Modeling and Assimilation Office; distributed by the NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center DAAC; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- GRACE and GRACE-FO JPL mascon solution, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory; distributed by the NASA Physical Oceanography DAAC (PO.DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- ASTER GDEM is a product of METI and NASA (ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003, NASA LP DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). Cite as: NASA/METI/AIST/Japan Spacesystems and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team (2019). ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003. doi:10.5067/ASTER/ASTGTM.003. NASA open data
- Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com. Public domain
- © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), via NASA GIBS (coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). ODbL
- Blue Marble, NASA Earth Observatory; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- Context on the globe and flat map: coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names from NASA GIBS reference layers (OpenStreetMap data, ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors); Blue Marble imagery as an optional base; 3D terrain and the elevation read-out from the ASTER GDEM elevation colour index (5 m to 200 m classes, exaggerated for legibility). Boundaries are drawn as published and imply no position on any territory.
- Live events: NASA Earth Observatory Natural Event Tracker (EONET); events are indicative and keep their original source links.
- Live: NASA EONET Events are indicative, not authority warnings.
- Live: NASA GPM IMERG Early. We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA’s Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA’s Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS).
- Live: U.S. Geological Survey Events are indicative, not authority warnings.
- NASA GIBS: We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA’s Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA’s Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS).
- River discharge forecast, 30 days with range (GloFAS via Open-Meteo): Contains modified Copernicus Emergency Management Service information 2026; not a flood warning.
- Past year, daily temperature (ERA5 via Open-Meteo): Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.
- Past year, daily temperature and sunshine (NASA POWER): These data were obtained from the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) POWER Project funded through the NASA Earth Science/Applied Science Program..
- Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (https://open-meteo.com/), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
- Optional layers (14 sources in the layer list: live, forecast, observed and context) print their provider credit on the map and here when switched on; forecasts are model output and derived indices are estimates.
Layers and dates
- Night-time lights, daily: VIIRS Black Marble (VNP46A2), NASA LAADS DAAC · 12 Oct 2026
- Flood water, 3-day composite: VIIRS Global Flood Product, NASA LANCE · 14 Oct 2026
- Precipitation rate, daily mean: GPM IMERG, NASA GES DISC · 12 Oct 2026
- Population density, 2020: Population: CIESIN, Columbia University, Gridded Population of the World v4.11 (2018), NASA SEDAC, CC BY 4.0 · static
- Root-zone soil moisture, 0 to 100 cm: SMAP Level 4, NASA NSIDC DAAC · 11 Oct 2026
- Water storage anomaly, monthly: GRACE-FO JPL mascons, NASA JPL PO.DAAC · July 2022
A dense web of binding rules.
- The EU Civil Protection Mechanism and rescEU, the EU Critical Entities Resilience Directive and NIS2 for network and information security.
- UNECE conventions open beyond the EU: the Water Convention, the Industrial Accidents Convention, the Air Convention, Aarhus and Espoo.
- ENTSO-E and ENTSOG for coordination of interconnected electricity and gas systems.
- The Central Asian water and energy arrangements, including the Interstate Commission for Water Coordination.
- The Council of Europe Framework Convention on AI, opened for signature in Vilnius.
Questions for the region’s interconnected systems.
| Question | Institutions involved |
|---|---|
| How are cross-border electricity emergencies coordinated when one system’s defence plan affects another’s? | Transmission system operators, regulators, ministries |
| How do subsea cables and pipelines get protected when responsibility is split between states, operators and navies? | Operators, coast guards, regulators |
| How does the Aral Sea basin share water between upstream hydropower and downstream irrigation? | Central Asian ministries and interstate commissions |
Coordination roles, not offices.
No regional host is on record. A Eurasia Nexus Consortium programme page is published by The Global Risks Alliance (GRA) and is marked as forming. Its formation records and participating structures are confirmed by the Secretariat before they are listed here.
| Planned hub | Programme focus | State |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | Four-nation context, coastal and North Sea systems, infrastructure continuity and finance readiness | Planned |
| France | Metropolitan and overseas contexts, Mediterranean systems, grids and European interoperability | Planned |
| Switzerland | Alpine systems, watersheds, methods, standards, international institutional interfaces and finance readiness | Planned |
| Türkiye | Seismic resilience, cities, reconstruction readiness and strategic corridors | Planned |
A planned hub is a proposed coordination role for shared-system work across a group of countries. It is not an operating site, an office or an exclusive territory, and countries listed in a hub’s scope do not, by that fact, have constituted programmes.
Leadership, dialogue and tested arrangements in the region.
Rivers and grids show why convening matters here. Navigation authorities, power operators, farmers and cities draw on the same rivers in drought years. Transmission operators share one frequency across borders. River commissions and system operator networks hold their own mandates. GRF’s dialogues support them.
Shared-system dialogues
Documented dialogues among the authorities, operators and communities who share a river, grid or corridor, with agreements and dissent recorded.
Regional roles in formation
Regional leadership roles are in formation; their scope is published only once adopted. See Regional leadership.
Cascade missions
Regional missions, such as a cross-border grid event affecting water, health and transport, can be proposed to Universe and admitted at gate G1.
Regional dialogue records and reviewed mission findings are designed to inform the Regional Systems series of Reports and the Universe Annual Synthesis. A recurring gap in common methods can be filed as a change proposal to the Nexus Standards.
What is in place, and what is not.
- Programme state: forming. No regional programme decision, host agreement or hub is described as operating.
- National structures keep agenda authority and may decline participation or data sharing.
- No regional body binds a country, and withdrawal never erases other parties’ lawful work.
- GRF convenes and records. It does not regulate, finance, procure or certify.
Where to go next.
Write to the regional desk, run by the Consortium Secretariat: the contact form (Europe and Eurasia desk). The acknowledgement gives a reference and names the next step. The technical view: GCRI’s Europe and Eurasia region page. The financial view: GRA’s Europe and Eurasia region page. Other regions: Africa, Asia and the Pacific and the full list on Regional cooperation.
Where this page’s references lead.
The bodies and documents this page is read against. Status and editions change; each link goes to the issuing body.
Questions and answers.
Does GRF’s Swiss location make it the regional lead?
Is the Eurasia programme of the Nexus Consortiums operating?
How does my institution take part in Europe and Eurasia?
Are there results for this region yet?
Bring a governance question to the Forum.
Information and enquiries are open today. An enquiry receives a reference and names the next step; applications, payments, compute allocations and registrations open only when their team, terms and review capacity exist.
Legal documents.
Show all 18 legal documents
Maps, data and figures on this site are shown for context and general information. They are not advice, forecasts or warnings; the limits of the information are set out in the Disclaimers and Data Notices.