Abstract
The impact of drought on vegetation can have significant consequences on livelihood and socio-economic development. Delay in monsoon, high temperature and lack of water resources lead to recurrent droughts in Gujarat. The present work attempts to study the spatio-temporal coverage of drought and its characteristics. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) Anomaly and Rainfall Anomaly Index (RAI) derived through CRU Global Climate dataset and NOAA-AVHRR data respectively for the period 1982–2001 were used for monitoring and comparison of meteorological and vegetative drought situations. Drought patterns, thus delineated, were found to have very good correlation with rainfall. It was observed that both Rainfall Anomaly Index and NDVI Anomaly Index can be used as an indicator for assessment of area affected by meteorological and vegetative drought. The latter showed a high correlation with Rainfall Anomaly Index. The impact of rainfall on vegetation health is, thus, clearly visible. The study was able to delineate the zones more prone to drought with the help of these two indices. This technique proved useful for analysing the spatial and temporal trend of drought, its prevalence, severity level and persistence with the help of freely available meteorological and satellite data. The findings will be of great value for planners and resource managers in quick decision making and forecasting.
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