Assessment of Drought using Earth Observation Data and Cloud Computing in Morocco for 2010-2020

Abstract

Drought is an extreme event that has hit several countries in the world including Morocco. The aim of this research was to assess drought in Morocco with a view to providing information for planning and management of droughts. For this, three drought indices were chosen: Combined Drought Indicator (CDI), Soil Moisture Agricultural Drought Index (SMADI), and Microwave Integrated Drought Index (MIDI). Drought monitor was done during the growing seasons of 2010-2020 using Earth Observation data and cloud computing with the mapping of the drought indices and their inter-comparing via Pearson correlation. The main drought events were tracked and drought characteristics analyzed. Seven drought years were tracked for regions of cereal production. CDI and MIDI were very well correlated, whereas SMADI showed poor correlation with CDI and MIDI. Validation of results was done by comparing our results with another study for the 2015-2016 drought event and comparing yearly precipitation with the long-term average. An Earth Engine App of the three indices was published to make public drought maps.