TerraDrought is a worldwide system that tracks and predicts droughts in real time. It was launched in late 2025 by scientists from CzechGlobe in the Czech Republic and the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the United States.
Background
[edit]TerraDrought builds on more than 25 years of collaboration between Czech and U.S. scientists. Their earlier work includes tools like the Standardized Precipitation Index and the European Drought Impact Database, which uses natural language processing to identify drought impacts from news reports. The system provides real-time drought assessments for the whole world, supporting national and regional monitoring programs. It offers data on drought intensity, unusual soil-moisture levels, stressed vegetation, and recorded impacts on areas such as farming, water supply, transportation, and wildfire management.[1][2][3]
Methodology
[edit]TerraDrought synthesizes multiple data streams, including:
- Meteorological inputs: the system uses meteorological inputs such as precipitation, temperature, and evapotranspiration.[1][2][3]
- Soil-moisture modelling: the platform makes use of land surface simulations and climatology.[1][2][3]
- Remote-sensing indicators: TerraDrought uses remote sensing indicators that include vegetation health and surface-water anomalies.[1][2]
- Impact reporting: the system creates impact reporting generated through automated text analysis of news articles, blogs, and media reports published in multiple languages.[1][2][3]
Applications
[edit]TerraDrought is used by researchers, government officials, humanitarian groups, and people who plan for agriculture. Its data help with early warning systems, food security planning, climate risk studies, and long term drought research. Because it combines environmental data with real world social and economic impacts, it provides a clear overall picture about drought risk and vulnerability.[1][2][3]
See also
[edit]
- Palmer drought index
- Aridity index
- Standardised Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index
- Keetch–Byram drought index
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f "TerraDrought: Czech and US scientists launch global real-time drought tool". Radio Prague International. 2025-12-01. Retrieved 2025-12-10.
- ^ a b c d e f "News | National Drought Mitigation Center". drought.unl.edu. Retrieved 2025-12-10.
- ^ a b c d e "TerraDrought: Czech and US scientists launch global real-time drought tool". Czech & Slovak Leaders. 2025-12-05. Retrieved 2025-12-10.