Drought

Vegetation Condition Index according to Kogan et al. (1990). Two-weeks normalized Differenced Vegetation Index (NDVI) composites based on 250m MODIS data are freely available for download from the MODIS/NDVI Time Series Database from the Global Agriculture Monitoring (GLAM) Project provided via the website of Geographic Department of Maryland University.

Mapping of built-up height and share of built-up area for the example of the city of Munich. The estimated average built-up height features a mean absolute error (MAE) of 2.7 m (i.e., less than one floor) and the share of built-up area could be estimated with an MAE of 13.3 %, when compared to a reference data set.

For a comprehensive and objective analysis of the settlement patterns, the DLR additionally developed an approach to display the spatial networks between the mapped settlements. It enables the computation of various form and centrality measures to characterize settlement patterns, at different spatial units, ranging from global to local scale.

The Agricultural Stress Index System (ASIS) is based on 10-day (dekadal) satellite data, of vegetation and land surface temperatures, from the METOP-AVHRR sensor at 1 km resolution. Data for Country-level ASIS is freely available for download from FAO FTP. Time Series Database from 1984.

CEMS is a core service of the European Union’s Earth Observation programme Copernicus. It supports all phases of the disaster management cycle by delivering warnings and risk assessments of floods and forest fires and by providing geospatial information derived from satellite images on the impact of natural and man-made disasters all over the world (before, during or after a crisis). The two Mapping services of CEMS (Rapid Mapping, Risk and Recovery Mapping) are delivering products since April 2012. The Risk & Recovery Mapping provided for example information for preparedness, disaster risk assessment and risk reduction related to earthquakes in Nepal, several post-disaster assessments for flood and fire events, reconstruction and recovery monitoring in Haiti, and multi-risk assessments for the Azores Islands in Portugal. 

CEMS is coordinated by the European Commission (joint coordination between the Directorate Generals ECHO, JRC, GROW). Activation requests…

Drought classification framework based on a suite of indicators is proposed for South Africa calibration and national adaptation process

The Drought-Watch Indices module can calculate five EO-derived drought indices (VCI, TCI, VHI, NDWI, NDDI, and VSWI) and two meteorological indices (SPI and AI) in four temporal scales (day, pentad, dekad and month) by the composition parameters. Both single index and combination index are applied for the drought classification in drought module and the results are demonstrated and saved in different forms.

A break in the heat wave that hit Europe in the summer of 2018 is giving a reprieve to many people who had been suffering from the heat. However, great damages to the vegetation and harvest remain. In Germany, the Association of Farmers has reported damages from the dry spell of over EUR 1 billion. Vegetation growth in various regions and whether there is a long-term trend in vegetation development can be assessed using satellite imagery. Identifying regions that are susceptible to drought are important for drought early warning systems and disaster preparedness. In general, the analysis of satellite imagery is based on the spectral reflectance of the surface of the Earth which differs for different surface types such as soil and vegetation. For detecting…