Earth Observation
The seasonal indicators are designed to allow easy identification of areas of cropped land with a high likelihood of water stress (drought). The indices are based on remote sensing data of vegetation and land surface temperature combined with information on agricultural cropping cycles derived from historical data and a global crop mask. The final maps highlight anomalous vegetation growth and potential drought in crop zones during the growing season.   More
The satellite data used in the calculation of the mean VHI and the ASI is the 10-day (dekadal) vegetation data from the METOP-AVHRR sensor at 1 km resolution (2007 and after). Data at 1 km resolution for the period 1984-2006 was derived from the NOAA-AVHRR dataset at 16 km resolution. The crop mask is FAO GLC-SHARE.
DISCLAIMERS
The boundaries and names shown and the designations used on the maps do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of FAO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers and boundaries.
 
YearDekad
Select:                        

Agricultural Stress Index  More
The Agricultural Stress Index (ASI) is a quick-look indicator that facilitates the early identification of cropped land with a high likelihood of water stress (drought). The Index is based on the integration of the Vegetation Health Index (VHI) in two dimensions that are critical in the assessment of a drought event in agriculture: temporal and spatial. The first step of the ASI calculation is a temporal averaging of the VHI, assessing the intensity and duration of dry periods occurring during the crop cycle at the pixel level; this calculation includes the use of crop coefficients, which introduces sensitivity of a crop to water stress during each phenological phase. The second step determines the spatial extent of drought events by calculating the percentage of pixels in arable areas with a VHI value below 35 percent (this value was identified as a critical threshold in assessing the extent of drought in previous research by Kogan, 1995). Each administrative area is classified according to the percentage of the affected area to facilitate the quick interpretation of results.
  WMS      



Drought Intensity  More
Agricultural droughts are classified by their intensity and are categorized into four classes: Extreme, Severe, Moderate or Mild. The intensity of the drought is calculated through the Weighted Mean Vegetation Health Index aggregated per GAUL 2 region, indicating that the poorer the vegetation health the more severe the drought.
  WMS



Progress of Season  More
The indicator depicts the development of crops/pastures during the growing season. For any dekad (a 10-day period), the map indicates how far the season has progressed, represented by a value between 0 and 100 percent (i.e. 50 percent is the mid-point of the growing season). The seasons’ progress is based on the long-term average of vegetation phenology for each pixel. This simplification implies that the crop/pasture phenology is static and, therefore, the growing seasons progress at a constant rate each year.
  WMS



Weighted Mean Vegetation Health Index  More
The Weighted Mean Vegetation Health Index (Weighted Mean VHI) allows the user to assess the severity of the drought from the start of the growing season, examining the vegetation health and the influence of temperature on plant conditions. The Mean VHI is an average of the dekadal VHI values over the crop growing season (from the start until the last dekad of analysis), weighted by crop coefficients (Kc), assigned to VHI values at the dekads corresponding to the Start of the Season (SOS), Maximum of the Season (MOS) and End of the Season (EOS). Crop coefficient is applied for the purpose of reflecting the crop’s water sensitivity at different phenology stages.
  WMS  


 
YearDekad
Select:                        

Agricultural Stress Index  More
The Agricultural Stress Index (ASI) is a quick-look indicator that facilitates the early identification of cropped land with a high likelihood of water stress (drought). The Index is based on the integration of the Vegetation Health Index (VHI) in two dimensions that are critical in the assessment of a drought event in agriculture: temporal and spatial. The first step of the ASI calculation is a temporal averaging of the VHI, assessing the intensity and duration of dry periods occurring during the crop cycle at the pixel level; this calculation includes the use of crop coefficients, which introduces sensitivity of a crop to water stress during each phenological phase. The second step determines the spatial extent of drought events by calculating the percentage of pixels in arable areas with a VHI value below 35 percent (this value was identified as a critical threshold in assessing the extent of drought in previous research by Kogan, 1995). Each administrative area is classified according to the percentage of the affected area to facilitate the quick interpretation of results.
  WMS      



Drought Intensity  More
Agricultural droughts are classified by their intensity and are categorized into four classes: Extreme, Severe, Moderate or Mild. The intensity of the drought is calculated through the Weighted Mean Vegetation Health Index aggregated per GAUL 2 region, indicating that the poorer the vegetation health the more severe the drought.
  WMS  



Progress of Season  More
The indicator depicts the development of crops/pastures during the growing season. For any dekad (a 10-day period), the map indicates how far the season has progressed, represented by a value between 0 and 100 percent (i.e. 50 percent is the mid-point of the growing season). The seasons’ progress is based on the long-term average of vegetation phenology for each pixel. This simplification implies that the crop/pasture phenology is static and, therefore, the growing seasons progress at a constant rate each year.
  WMS



Weighted Mean Vegetation Health Index  More
The Weighted Mean Vegetation Health Index (Weighted Mean VHI) allows the user to assess the severity of the drought from the start of the growing season, examining the vegetation health and the influence of temperature on plant conditions. The Mean VHI is an average of the dekadal VHI values over the crop growing season (from the start until the last dekad of analysis), weighted by crop coefficients (Kc), assigned to VHI values at the dekads corresponding to the Start of the Season (SOS), Maximum of the Season (MOS) and End of the Season (EOS). Crop coefficient is applied for the purpose of reflecting the crop’s water sensitivity at different phenology stages.
  WMS


Year
Select:         

Agricultural Stress Index   More
The Annual ASI depicts the percentage of arable land, within an administrative area, that has been affected by drought conditions over the entire cropping season. It differs from ASI, which is based on conditions from the start of the season up to the current dekad.
  WMS      



Drought Intensity   More
Agricultural droughts are classified by their intensity and are categorized into four classes: Extreme, Severe, Moderate or Mild. The intensity of drought is calculated through the Weighted Mean Vegetation Health Index, indicating that the poorer the vegetation health the more severe the drought. The Annual summary of Drought Intensity allows the user to assess the overall intensity of drought for an entire growing season.
    WMS  



Weighted Mean Vegetation Health Index   More
The Annual Weighted Mean Vegetation Health Index (Weighted Mean VHI) allows the user to assess the overall severity of drought for an entire growing season, examining the vegetation health and the influence of temperature on plant conditions. The Annual Weighted Mean VHI takes into account the sensitivity of a crop to water stress over its growing season, and calculates the temporal impact of moisture deficits and temperature over the complete growing season.
    WMS  

Year
Select:         

Agricultural Stress Index   More
The Annual ASI depicts the percentage of arable land, within an administrative area, that has been affected by drought conditions over the entire cropping season. It differs from ASI, which is based on conditions from the start of the season up to the current dekad.
  WMS        



Drought Intensity   More
The Annual ASI depicts the percentage of arable land, within an administrative area, that has been affected by drought conditions over the entire cropping season. It differs from ASI, which is based on conditions from the start of the season up to the current dekad.
    WMS  



Weighted Mean Vegetation Health Index   More
The Weighted Mean Vegetation Health Index (Weighted Mean VHI) allows the user to assess the severity of the drought from the start of the growing season, examining the vegetation health and the influence of temperature on plant conditions. The Mean VHI is an average of the dekadal VHI values over the crop growing season (from the start until the last dekad of analysis), weighted by crop coefficients (Kc), assigned to VHI values at the dekads corresponding to the Start of the Season (SOS), Maximum of the Season (MOS) and End of the Season (EOS). Crop coefficient is applied for the purpose of reflecting the crop’s water sensitivity at different phenology stages.
    WMS  

The seasons’ progress is based on the long-term average of vegetation phenology for each pixel. This simplification implies that the crop/pasture phenology is static and therefore the growing seasons progress at a constant rate each year.

Start of Season (SOS) indicates the early stage of crop/grass emergence, defined as the date when the rising NDVI-curve cuts the threshold NDVIs:
NDVIs=NDVImins + Ts*(NDVImax – NDVImins)
NDVImax is the NDVI at the maximum of the cycle, NDVImins is the minimum before this maximum and threshold Ts is fixed to 0.25 for all land cover types. SOS is searched leftwards from NDVImax to NDVImins.
  WMS


Maximum of Season (MOS) indicates when crop/grass foliage is fully developed, defined as the date when the NDVI is at its maximum value.
  WMS


End of Season (EOS) indicates when crop/grass has reached physiological maturity, defined as the date when the descending NDVI-curve crosses NDVIe, This date does not necessarily correspond to the harvest period.
NDVIe=NDVImine + Te*(NDVImax – NDVimine)
NDVImax is the NDVI at the maximum of the cycle, NDVImine is the minimum after this maximum and threshold Te is set to 0.75 for cropland and to 0.25 for all other land. EOS is searched rightwards from NDVImax to NDVImine.
  WMS  


The seasons’ progress is based on the long-term average of vegetation phenology for each pixel. This simplification implies that the crop/pasture phenology is static and therefore the growing seasons progress at a constant rate each year.

Start of Season (SOS) indicates the early stage of crop/grass emergence, defined as the date when the rising NDVI-curve cuts the threshold NDVIs:
NDVIs=NDVImins + Ts*(NDVImax – NDVImins)
NDVImax is the NDVI at the maximum of the cycle, NDVImins is the minimum before this maximum and threshold Ts is fixed to 0.25 for all land cover types. SOS is searched leftwards from NDVImax to NDVImins.
  WMS


Maximum of Season (MOS) indicates when crop/grass foliage is fully developed, defined as the date when the NDVI is at its maximum value.
  WMS


End of Season (EOS) indicates when crop/grass has reached physiological maturity, defined as the date when the descending NDVI-curve crosses NDVIe, This date does not necessarily correspond to the harvest period.
NDVIe=NDVImine + Te*(NDVImax – NDVimine)
NDVImax is the NDVI at the maximum of the cycle, NDVImine is the minimum after this maximum and threshold Te is set to 0.75 for cropland and to 0.25 for all other land. EOS is searched rightwards from NDVImax to NDVImine.1
  WMS


The indicator depicts the development of crops/pastures during the growing season. For any dekad (a 10-day period), the map indicates how far the season has progressed, represented by a value between 0 and 100 percent (i.e. 50 percent is the mid-point of the growing season). The seasons’ progress is based on the long-term average of vegetation phenology for each pixel. This simplification implies that the crop/pasture phenology is static and, therefore, the growing seasons progress at a constant rate each year.
  WMS


The indicator depicts the development of crops/pastures during the growing season. For any dekad (a 10-day period), the map indicates how far the season has progressed, represented by a value between 0 and 100 percent (i.e. 50 percent is the mid-point of the growing season). The seasons’ progress is based on the long-term average of vegetation phenology for each pixel. This simplification implies that the crop/pasture phenology is static and, therefore, the growing seasons progress at a constant rate each year.
  WMS



Historic Drought Frequency   More
The maps depict the frequency of severe drought in areas where: i) 30 percent of the cropped land; or ii) 50 percent of the cropped land has been affected. The historical frequency of severe droughts (as defined by ASI) is based on the entire the times series (1984-2023).
>30% of the cropland affected  
    WMS
>50% of the cropland affected
  WMS

Historic Drought Frequency   More
The maps depict the frequency of severe drought in areas where: i) 30 percent of the cropped land; or ii) 50 percent of the cropped land has been affected. The historical frequency of severe droughts (as defined by ASI) is based on the entire the times series (1984-2023).
>30% of the cropland affected  
    WMS


>50% of the cropland affected
  WMS


 
YearDekad
Select:                        

Agricultural Stress Index  More
The Agricultural Stress Index (ASI) is a quick-look indicator that facilitates the early identification of cropped land with a high likelihood of water stress (drought). The Index is based on the integration of the Vegetation Health Index (VHI) in two dimensions that are critical in the assessment of a drought event in agriculture: temporal and spatial. The first step of the ASI calculation is a temporal averaging of the VHI, assessing the intensity and duration of dry periods occurring during the crop cycle at the pixel level; this calculation includes the use of crop coefficients, which introduces sensitivity of a crop to water stress during each phenological phase. The second step determines the spatial extent of drought events by calculating the percentage of pixels in arable areas with a VHI value below 35 percent (this value was identified as a critical threshold in assessing the extent of drought in previous research by Kogan, 1995). Each administrative area is classified according to the percentage of the affected area to facilitate the quick interpretation of results.
  WMS