Assessment and Monitoring of Agricultural Drought in Latur District of Maharashtra

Agricultural drought refers to a lack of moisture in the soil and its impact on crop growth. Due to insufficient rainfall, the Marathwada region of Maharashtra faces recurring agricultural drought challenges. Geospatial tools such as remote sensing and GIS are essential for assessment of agricultural drought. The study aims at spatio-temporal assessment and monitoring of agricultural drought. The study provides a comprehensive geospatial analysis of agricultural drought in the Latur district of the Marathwada region, with a focus on drought assessment and monitoring from 2016 to 2020 respectively. Landsat 8-9 OLI/TIRS datasets were utilized in this study to monitor the agricultural drought using drought indices such as the VHI, VCI, PCI and TCI, providing a comprehensive view of drought dynamics. In the present study the values of VHI shows that in the years 2016 and 2019 there were extreme droughts, affecting $3113.5 \mathrm{sq}. \mathrm{km}$ and $2637.86 \mathrm{sq}. \mathrm{km}$ of total land, respectively. The annual TCI, VCI, and PCI indices values showed that the areas experiencing agricultural drought on a regular basis are in the northern and north-western parts of the districts. Notably, the negative correlation between VHI and PCI underscores the pivotal role of adequate rainfall in sustaining agriculture. This geospatial analysis provides a holistic view of drought dynamics. The analysis reveals drought-prone areas, temporal trends, and spatial distribution, facilitating early warning and resource allocation.