Drought is defined as an extended period of deficient rainfall relative to the average for a region. Satellite imagery can be used to help identify areas of drought over time. Near real-time monitoring of drought conditions can be useful for monitoring crops and forecasting yield. There are several global/regional scale systems in place that report on drought, food shortages and forecasting crop yields including the USGS Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) and Group on Earth Observations Global Agricultural Monitoring (GEO GLAM) crop monitor.
Users can visualize imagery related to drought in Worldview or download data through NASA's Land, Atmosphere Near real-time Capability for Earth observation (LANCE) using the links below.