Vegetation and temperature condition indices from NOAA AVHRR data for drought monitoring over India

The Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) onboard the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) series of satellites has been used for mapping vegetation cover and classification employing the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). Recently, this technique has been improved by converting NDVI with radiation measured in one of the thermal channels and converting brightness temperature into the Vegetation Condition Index (VCI) and Temperature Condition Index (TCI). These indices are being used for estimation of vegetation health and monitoring drought. The present study shows the application of vegetation and temperature condition indices for drought monitoring in India.