Digital Twins of the Earth system are emerging as an approach for combining Earth observations, modelling, high-performance computing, data-driven methods and interactive simulation to better represent environmental processes and their interactions across spatial and temporal scales. Initiatives such as Destination Earth (DestinE), together with national, European, and international Digital Twin developments, provide new opportunities to explore how these capabilities can contribute to understanding and reducing disaster risk.

This session invites contributions examining how Earth-system and environmental Digital Twins, and the data, models and technologies underpinning them, can contribute to disaster risk reduction (DRR). The focus extends from improving the representation and understanding of hazards and their interactions to assess exposure, vulnerability and impacts, exploring risk scenarios, and supporting preparedness, early warning and risk-reduction decisions.

We welcome contributions addressing single, compound, cascading and multi-hazard risks, including floods, droughts, heatwaves, wildfires, storms, landslides and other geophysical, climate- and weather-related hazards. Relevant topics include the integration of Earth observations and environmental data; coupling of Earth-system, hazard and impact models; high-resolution and multi-scale simulations; representation of exposure and vulnerability; scenario and what-if analysis; impact-based forecasting and early warning; and the translation of complex simulations into risk-relevant information.

The session also welcomes research on the role of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) in Digital Twin workflows, including data integration, emulation and surrogate modelling, pattern and anomaly detection, hazard and impact modelling, and the extraction of risk-relevant information from large simulations and datasets. Contributions addressing uncertainty, validation, interpretability, interoperability and computational challenges are particularly encouraged.

We invite both methodological developments and case studies that critically assess the added value and limitations of Digital Twins for DRR, including their potential use by civil protection authorities, public administrations, infrastructure operators and other risk-management communities. Contributions from Destination Earth and other European and international Digital Twin initiatives are welcome.