A global near real-time dataset of Microwave Integrated Drought Index from the Fengyun-3 satellites

Droughts have become more frequent and intense with increasing climate warming, posing widespread risks on ecosystem, agricultural, and water resources, therefore effective and timely drought monitoring is critical to drought assessment, management, and mitigation. Here, we presented a global monthly and ten-day drought dataset of the Fengyun-3 Microwave Integrated Drought Index (FY-3 MIDI) by integrating the inconsistency corrected FY-3B/C/D derived microwave precipitation, soil moisture, and land surface temperature with optimal weights from June 2014 to present. The dataset was evaluated and validated against the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index, the Self-calibrating Palmer Drought Severity Index, and the non-FY MIDI at 0.25°. The FY-3 MIDI can effectively observe drought condition and characteristics as captured by the reference datasets, and it was reliable in monitoring meteorological drought with the ability to work in all-weather condition. Based on the operational Fengyun-3 series satellite, it provided valuable operational service in near real-time on a monthly and ten-day time scale, guaranteeing present and future continuous applications to support global and regional drought monitoring and assessment.