 This study presents a novel method for monitoring drought socioeconomic impacts using media reports, which achieved high accuracy and spatial temporal precision in the case of the 2018-19 German drought. The findings suggest that media data can be used to rapidly and accurately monitor drought consequences over time and space, potentially serving as a starting point for an impact-based early warning system. This article was authored by Mariana Madruga Debrito, Christian Kulik, and Andreas Marx.