Abstract
To provide an early indication of below average rainfall and pastureland biomass production, which could lead to famine conditions, methods of estimating rainfall and biomass of the Sahelian region of West Africa using satellite observations were developed. 10 and 30 day rainfall were successfully estimated from the duration of rain bearing clouds, derived from Meteosat infrared radiation measurements. Biomass was estimated from the Perpendicular Vegetation Index derived from Landsat MSS data and ground based biomass measurements for an area in the centre of the Republic of Niger. The accuracy of these estimates was found to be generally reasonable when checked against an independent set of biomass measurements. These methods are to be incorporated into an operational system for this region of Africa.
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