Advancements in drought using remote sensing: assessing progress, overcoming challenges, and exploring future opportunities

• Published in: Theoretical and applied climatology 2024-06, Vol.155 (6), p.4251-4288
• Main Authors: Kumar, Vijendra, Sharma, Kul Vaibhav, Pham, Quoc Bao, Srivastava, Ayush Kumar, Bogireddy, Chandra, Yadav, S. M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agricultural production; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Atmospheric Sciences; Climatology; Data interpretation; Data sources; Drought; Drought conditions; Drought index; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Evaporation; Fluctuations; Groundwater; Groundwater storage; Indicators; Land surface temperature; Moisture content; Remote monitoring; Remote sensing; Resource management; Review; Soil moisture; Soil temperature; Soil water storage; Surface temperature; Surface water; Surface-groundwater relations; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; Water resources; Water resources management; Water storage
• ISSN: 0177-798X; 1434-4483
• DOI: 10.1007/s00704-024-04914-w

The use of remote sensing for monitoring and managing droughts is examined in this review study. Drought has a significant impact on how water resources are managed and agricultural production is produced, and remote sensing is a vital technique for assessing and monitoring the severity of drought. A number of remote sensing data sources are discussed in the paper; including precipitation, groundwater and surface water storage, soil moisture, land surface temperature, evaporation, and agricultural indicators. With the use of these data sources, drought indices and indicators that measure the severity and spatiotemporal fluctuations of the drought may be developed. The novel approach of this review study emphasizes the benefits of using remote sensing to gain a full understanding of drought dynamics and to accurately capture fine-scale fluctuations in drought conditions. However, the study also highlights certain limitations, including issues related to data accessibility, data interpretation, and validation difficulties. It emphasizes the significance of using remote sensing to promote the developing policies and strategies to enhance drought resilience and adaptation. The importance of continuous research, technical development, and stakeholder cooperation in order to fully realize remote sensing's promise for tackling the complex problems associated with drought and promoting sustainable water resource management.