Mountains are often called the “water towers of the world”: by 2050, around a quarter of the global population is expected to depend heavily on mountain runoff. Yet mountains matter not only because they supply water downstream. They are home to unique ecosystems and vibrant local communities whose wellbeing is important in its own right. Today, these regions are increasingly exposed to drought, and the Alps are no exception. The mechanisms driving drought in mountain environments under a warmer and drier climate include declining snowpacks, glacier retreat, shifts from snow to rain, altered runoff seasonality, vegetation stress, wildfire risk, and groundwater depletion. Recent droughts in the Alps and other mountain regions reveal changes that exceed historical variability and propagate impacts far beyond mountain boundaries. Despite their importance, drought processes in mountains remain poorly understood due to their remoteness, heterogeneity, and limited observations. Interactions between cryosphere, ecosystems, and groundwater can both buffer and amplify drought impacts, to the extent that why integrated, cross-sector knowledge is essential to understand and manage them. Action is possible, through better understanding, managing, and adapting to drought in mountain regions. Because what happens in the Alps matters to you.