The National Agricultural
Drought Assessment and Management system (NADMS) is being
developed by the Department of space for the Department
of Agriculture and Co-operation, and is primarily based
the monitoring of vegetation status through National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Advanced Vary High
Resolution (AVHR) data. The drought assessment is based
on a comparative evaluation of satellite observed green
vegetation cover (both area and greenness) of a district
in any specific time period, with that of any similar period
in previous years. This comparative evaluation helps in
fixing the current season in the scale of historic agricultural
situations. In 1990-91, drought assessment what intimated
to drought-affected sates and districts within 48-72 hours
of every biweekly period by telex/ telegrams and printed
bulletins dispatched within 10 days. During 1992, the frequency
of drought report was changed to monthly interval but with
more detailed assessment of seasonal conditions and integrating
ground observations of rainfall and agricultural situation
with satellite data. This nation-wide early-warning service
has been found to be useful for providing first alert of
drought conditions.
