Drought impact on ecosystems (2000-2023)

This indicator only addresses meteorological droughts, hence the annual deficit in soil moisture due precipitation shortages as opposed to hydrological droughts which occur when low water supply becomes evident, especially in streams, reservoirs, and groundwater levels, usually after many months of meteorological drought. The indicator monitors anomalies and long-term trends in vegetation productivity based on remote sensing observed time series data of vegetation indices in areas that are under pressure from drought.

Drought pressure is computed as soil moisture deficit within the growing season, using the Soil Moisture Index (SMI)10 time series of the Copernicus EMS European Drought Observatory of the European Commission Joint Research Centre (EDO, 2019).

Drought impact during the growing season is indicated as a severe negative annual productivity anomaly in drought-pressured areas, i.e. areas with negative annual soil moisture anomalies.