Drought vulnerability assessment by employingtheGeographical Information Systemand Analytical Hierarchy Processfor the Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh, India

Droughts are recurring events that adversely affect agricultural activities, population density, and irrigated land. The consequences vary from region to region and are called a 'creeping phenomenon'. It is necessary to map drought vulnerability comprehensively in order to develop and implement drought mitigation strategies. In this regard, remote sensing-based studies are most robust, effective, and efficient at monitoring and mapping droughts compared to conventional ground survey methods. The purpose of this study was to develop a comprehensive drought vulnerability map using geospatial techniques and remote sensing to assess the spatial extent of drought vulnerability in Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh, India. A total of 13 drought-influencing parameters such as Slope, Elevation, Aspect, Soil texture, Geology/Lithology, Land Use & Land Cover, Drainage density, Distance from water bodies, Groundwater fluctuation, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, Rainfall, Land Surface Temperature, and Topographic Wetness Index were selected for the assessment of drought vulnerability. These indices were integrated to create drought maps of both spatial and temporal extent in ArcGIS. Using pairwise comparison matrices, the Analytical hierarchy process (AHP) calculates weights for each criterion. The Drought Vulnerability Assessment map is generated by analyzing the parameters through spatial analysis. The results revealed that the drought vulnerability index of Kurnool is 42.5. This finding has been successfully validated by historical drought records of the region. Decision-makers can use the results to develop and apply proactive drought mitigation strategies.