The Indian Meteorlogical Department (IMD) defines drought as ‘the consequence of a natural reduction in the amount of precipitation over an extended period of time, usually a season or more in length, often associated with other climatic factors (viz. high temperatures, high winds and low relative humidity) that can aggravate the severity of the drought event.'
The IMD calculates meteorlogical drought over an area as a situation when the seasonal rainfall received over the area is less than75% of its long term average value. Further classifications are:
When the maps were generated, some interesting patterns emerged. We invite people to look at the data and contribute their own maps analysis and definitions of drought.
We hope this project inspires people to look at what contributes to drought and the data used and debate how we can improve the assessment.
Click on the images below for a closer look at the maps and for the methodology.