See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/370068247

Comparison between the Remote Sensing-based drought indices in Punjab,

Pakistan

Conference Paper · November 2022

CITATIONS READS

2 83

7 authors, including:

Ali Hasan Jaffry Hassan Raza

University of Engineering and Technology Pakistan Engineering Services
3 PUBLICATIONS 16 CITATIONS 4 PUBLICATIONS 16 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Saif Haider Muhammad Umer Masood

University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore Montana Tech of the University of Montana
7 PUBLICATIONS 12 CITATIONS 9 PUBLICATIONS 15 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Drought and Agricultural Production Nexuses in Punjab: Historical Patterns, Spatiotemporal Variability and Probabilistic Projection View project

Flood Management Characterization and Vulnerability Analysis using an Integrated RS-GIS and 2D Hydrodynamic Modelling Approach View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Saif Haider on 17 April 2023.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Online available at www.cewre.edu.pk CEWRE/2_SWRM/22/012/pp:94-99
ISBN: 978-969-8670-06-01 November 16, 2022

Comparison between the Remote Sensing-based drought indices in Punjab,

Pakistan
Ali Hasan Jaffry 1, Hassan Raza 1, Saif Haider 1, Muhammad Umer Masood 1,
Muhammad Waseem 1*, Muhammad Asim Shahid 2, Behroz Ali 3
1
Centre of Excellence in Water Resources Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology
Lahore, Pakistan
2
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology Lahore, Pakistan
3
Department of Water Resources Engineering, International Islamic University Islamabad, Pakistan

Email: *dr.waseem@uet.edu.pk

Abstract: Drought is a natural hazard that can cause several impacts, such as decreasing air and water
quality, land degradation, forest fires, and decreasing crop production. Drought assessment using drought
indices is a way to monitor droughts. Remote-sensing-based indices are defined as an index that use remote
sensing data for mapping the drought condition in a particular area or region. The purpose of this research is
to compare different remote-sensing-based drought indices (TCI, VCI, and VHI) to gain a better understanding
of how they differ from each other, as well as their viability for drought monitoring in districts of Punjab,
Pakistan during the El Nino year of 2009. To do this, we used land surface temperature (LST) and enhanced
vegetation index (EVI) data to construct the indices. The results of the study showed that each index is a useful,
quick, sufficient, and inexpensive tool for drought monitoring. However, each index has its own strengths and
weaknesses. For example, the TCI index was found to be more sensitive to drought conditions during dry
seasons or months when high temperatures occurred. Meanwhile, the VCI index was found to be more sensitive
to drought conditions occurring in the months of April to July, as well as November to December, than the TCI
index. Finally, the VHI index - which is an enhancement of the TCI and VCI indices - was found to provide a
better understanding of drought occurrence by combining the two indicators.

Keywords: Drought; Remote Sensing, TCI, VCI, VHI, Agriculture.

drought indices use a combination of

Introduction
Drought is a natural hazard that occurs when
there is a lack of rainfall over an extended
period. This can lead to devastating wildfires
and Dust Bowl conditions. [1]. Drought has
caused several impacts, such as decreasing air
and water quality, land degradation, forest
fires, and decreasing agricultural crop
production. It may lead to water conflict and
force people to immigrate to better places
[2][3]. Drought monitoring is essential to
prevent and minimize the impact of drought
occurrence. Drought monitoring can be
assessed by using drought indices, which are
defined as a combination of drought indicators
(temperature, precipitation, vegetation
condition, evapotranspiration, etc.) [4].
Niemeyer [5] categorized drought indices into
three types: comprehensive, combined, and
remote sensing based. Comprehensive drought
indices provide more comprehensive
information for drought analysis than using
raw data from each indicator. Combined
indicators to provide more comprehensive
information. Remote sensing-based drought
indices use satellite data to provide
information about droughts. There are a few
different ways to index drought, but the two
most common are the PDSI (Palmer Drought
Severity Index) and the combination drought
index. The PDSI is calculated using
evapotranspiration, runoff, soil recharge, and
precipitation indicators, while the combination
drought index is a combination of two or more
drought indices. Both methods are useful for
drought mapping and monitoring. The USDM
(US Drought Monitoring) is one example of an
index that uses a combination of drought
indices, such as the SPI (Standardized
Precipitation Index), PDSI, vegetation, and
hydrology variable. Remote sensing-based
indices are defined as indices that use remote
sensing data to map drought conditions in a
specific area or region [4]. Drought indices
that are based on remote sensing are popular
because satellite data is more quickly, easily,

Proceeding of 2nd National Conference on Sustainable Water Resources Management (SWRM-22) 94

Online available at www.cewre.edu.pk
ISBN: 978-969-8670-06-01
and affordably gathered than observational
data. [1]. Many drought indices are based on
remote sensing, for example, NDVI
(Normalized Difference Vegetation Index),
TCI (Temperature Condition Index), VCI
(Vegetation Condition Index), and VHI
(Vegetation Health Index). Besides being used
as drought indices, TCI, VCI, and VHI are
classified as vegetation indices that describe
the condition of vegetation in a particular area.
They are often used for drought monitoring
because they can help categorize areas into
drought classes [6]. TCI identifies vegetation
stress caused by high temperature, as well as
excessive wetness [7][8][9]. VCI is
commonly used to identify the changes in
vegetation from bad to the optimum condition
[7][8]. VHI describes vegetation health from
the combination of TCI (temperature) and VCI
(vegetation condition) [8][1]. TCI, VCI, and
VHI are remote sensing-based indices used in
this research for drought monitoring in
districts of Punjab, Pakistan as a study area,
which is one of the agricultural production
centers in Pakistan [10] as shown in figure 1.
The focus period of this research was the year
2009 a strong El Nino event [11]. Thus, it may
lead to drought occurrence in the study area.
This research aims to compare these three
indices to understand the differentiation
between each index, and its application for
monitoring drought in some districts of Punjab
during El Nino 2009.
Figure 1: Study Area
Methodology
The Moderate Resolution Imaging
Spectroradiometer (MODIS) datasets were
used to calculate remote-sensing-based
drought indices in this research. MODIS
datasets were obtained from U.S. Geological
Survey (USGS). TCI was derived by using
LST (Land Surface Temperature) from
MOD11C3 monthly LST with a spatial
Proceeding of 2nd National Conference on Sustainable Water Resources Management (SWRM-22)
CEWRE/2_SWRM/22/012/pp:94-99
November 16, 2022
resolution of 0.05o, and calculated by the
following equation (equation 1):
𝐿𝑆𝑇𝑚𝑎𝑥 − 𝐿𝑆𝑇𝑖
𝑇𝐶𝐼𝑖 = × 100
𝐿𝑆𝑇𝑚𝑎𝑥 − 𝐿𝑆𝑇𝑚𝑖𝑛
where LSTi, LSTmin, and LSTmax are
defined as the LST of the current month, and
maximum and minimum LST value in multi-
year. TCI value ranges from 0-100, while low
TCI indicates an unfavorable condition, and
high TCI indicates an optimum condition. In
several studies, TCI is also produced from
brightness temperature [1][7][8]. In addition,
TCI derived from LST was conducted in
several studies, e.g. [12][13].
VCI was constructed by using EVI (Enhanced
Vegetation Index) which is similar to NDVI
but passed through the enhancement. EVI has
corrected the aerosol in the atmosphere and
shadow captured by satellite to reduce the bias
that can influence EVI values [14]. In this
study, we used MODIS product MOD11A3
monthly EVI with a spatial resolution of 1 km.
TCI is then calculated by the following
equation:
𝐸𝑉𝐼𝑖 −𝐸𝑉𝐼𝑚𝑖𝑛
𝑉𝐻𝐼𝑖 = 𝐸𝑉𝐼 × 100 (1)
𝑚𝑎𝑥 −𝐸𝑉𝐼𝑚𝑖𝑛
where VCIi, VCImin, and VCImax are defined
as VCI of the current month, and maximum
and minimum VCI value in multi-year. VCI
also ranges from 0-100, while low VCI
indicates an unfavorable condition, and high
VCI indicates an optimum condition [1][9].
Lastly, VHI is composed of VCI, and TCI
provides a better comprehension of drought
occurrence than using only a single drought
index indicator. The detail of VHI calculation
from TCI and VCI is illustrated in Figure 2.
VHI calculation is also given in the following
equation:
𝑉𝐻𝐼 = 0.5𝑉𝐶𝐼 + 0.5𝑇𝐶𝐼 (2)
TCI, VCI, and VHI were then classified into
five severity classes (see Table 1).
Table 1: Drought severity classes for TCI,
VCI, and VHI
Severity Class Values
Extreme Drought < 10
Severe Drought < 20
Moderate Drought < 30
Mild Drought < 40
No Drought > 40
95
Online available at www.cewre.edu.pk CEWRE/2_SWRM/22/012/pp:94-99
ISBN: 978-969-8670-06-01 November 16, 2022

100
90
80

Areal Extent (%)

70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Month

TCI VCI VHI

Figure 3: Bhakkar

90
80
70

Areal Extent (%)

60
50
40
30
20
10
Figure 2: Flow Diagram of VHI Calculation 0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Results and discussions Month

TCI VCI VHI

In the winter season, Bhakkar, TCI, VCI, and
VHI have a similar pattern of increasing trend Figure 4: Dera Ghazi Khan
and higher areal extent. This shows wet
conditions during the summer season. In Dera 90
80
Ghazi Khan, TCI, VCI and VHI again have a 70
Areal Extent (%)

similar pattern but with an increasing trend. 60

50
This again shows dry conditions during the 40
summer season in Jhang. TCI, VCI, and VHI 30
have an increasing pattern in Jhang while in 20
10
the summer season it has again an increasing 0
pattern. For Layyah, the TCI, VCI, and VHI Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Month
are again all showing an upward trend, with
the TCI and VHI having a higher areal extent TCI VCI VHI

than the VCI. In the summer season, these Figure 5: Jhang

have all increased with the VCI having a
higher areal extent than both the TCI and VHI. 90
80
In Muzaffargarh, the TCI, VCI, and VHI are 70
Areal Extent (%)

all showing an increasing trend with a higher 60

areal extent of both the TCI and VHI and a 50
40
lower areal extent of the VCI. In the summer 30
season, the TCI, VCI, and VHI are all showing 20
10
an increasing trend while still having a higher 0
areal extent of the VCI than both the TCI and Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Month
VHI.
TCI VCI VHI
In Bhakkar, the TCI and VHI are showing no
drought in January, February, and March, Figure 6: Layyah
while the VCI is showing mild drought in
January and no drought in February and drought and the VHI is showing extreme and
March. In April, the TCI is showing no severe drought, respectively. The months of
drought while the VCI is showing severe July, August, September, and October are mild
drought and the VHI is showing mild drought. in terms of drought conditions according to the
In May and June, the TCI is showing severe TCI index. However, the VCI index shows
drought while the VCI is showing extreme that there is moderate to severe drought during

Proceeding of 2nd National Conference on Sustainable Water Resources Management (SWRM-22) 96

Online available at www.cewre.edu.pk CEWRE/2_SWRM/22/012/pp:94-99
ISBN: 978-969-8670-06-01 November 16, 2022

these months. The VHI index shows mild to and VHI. In April, the TCI shows no drought
moderate drought during this period. In while the VCI shows severe drought and the
November and December, the TCI index VHI shows mild drought. In May and June,
shows no drought conditions while the VCI the TCI and VHI show severe drought while
index shows severe drought. The VHI index the VCI show extreme drought. In July,
shows mild drought for November and no August, September, and October, the TCI
drought for December. shows mild to no drought while the VCI
shows moderate to no drought and the VHI
90 shows mild to no drought. In November and
80
70
December, the TCI shows no drought while
Areal Extent (%)

60 the VCI show severe drought, and the VHI

50
show mild to no drought.
40
30
20 For Muzaffargarh, In January, February, and
10
0
march TCI, VCI, and VHI are showing no
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec drought. In April TCI is showing no drought
Month
while VCI showing moderate drought and
TCI VCI VHI VHI showing mild drought. In May and June,
Figure 7: Muzaffargarh TCI and VHI are showing moderate to severe
drought while VCI is showing severe drought.
The DG Khan area is not currently In July, August, September, and October TCI
experiencing any drought conditions, are showing mild and no drought while no
according to the TCI, VCI, and VHI reports drought to mild drought by VCI and no
for January, February, and March. In April, the
TCI showed no drought conditions while the
VCI showed mild drought and the VHI
showed no drought. In May and June, all three
reports showed moderate drought conditions.
In July, August, September, and October, the
TCI showed mild drought and no drought
conditions while the VCI and VHI showed no
drought. In November and December, the TCI
showed no drought while the VCI showed
moderate drought and the VHI showed mild
and no drought, respectively.

Jhang is a region that experiences no drought

during January, February, and March, Figure 8: Drought Indices maps for January,
according to the TCI, VCI, and VHI. In April, February, and March
the TCI shows no drought while the VCI and
VHI show severe and mild drought,
respectively. From May to June, both the TCI
and VHI show severe drought while the VCI
shows extreme drought. The TCI shows mild
to no drought and the VCI shows moderate to
no drought from July to October, while the
VHI remains in a state of mild to no drought.
In November and December, the TCI still
shows no drought while the VCI has worsened
to show severe drought; however, the VHI has
improved to show mild to no drought.

There is no drought in Layyah in January,

February, or March according to the TCI, VCI, Figure 9: Drought Indices maps for April,
May, and June

Proceeding of 2nd National Conference on Sustainable Water Resources Management (SWRM-22) 97

Online available at www.cewre.edu.pk
ISBN: 978-969-8670-06-01
Figure 10: Drought Indices maps for July,
August, and September
Figure 11: Drought Indices maps of October,
November, and December
drought to mild drought by VHI. In November
and December TCI is showing no drought
while VCI is showing severe drought VHI is
showing mild and no drought, respectively. In
November and December, the TCI is showing
no drought while the VCI is showing severe
drought. The VHI is showing mild and no
drought, respectively.
Each index proved to be a useful, quick,
sufficient, and inexpensive tool for drought
monitoring. However, each index has its
differences. For example, in this study, TCI
proved to be detected drought sensitively in
the dry season or months when high
temperatures occurred. Kogan et al. [8]
showed that TCI provides information about
vegetation stress caused by high temperatures
or extensive wetness. While VCI detected
drought more sensitive in the wet season as
well (November-December-February to April-
July) than TCI and VHI. It may be caused by
Proceeding of 2nd National Conference on Sustainable Water Resources Management (SWRM-22)
CEWRE/2_SWRM/22/012/pp:94-99
November 16, 2022
the high resolution of data used for VCI
calculation and bias from harvest season thus
the index misinterprets unused land after
harvest as a drought area. But VCI is useful
for determining the onset and duration of
drought [8] and weather impact on vegetation
health [6]. Meanwhile, VHI which the
enhancement of TCI and VHI has combined
two indicators, namely temperature, and
vegetation to provide a better comprehension
of drought occurrence [8]. The results also
showed VHI values were in the middle
between TCI and VCI values because of its
weight-equal calculation of TCI and VCI to
produce VHI.
Conclusions
The areal extent of VCI was found to be
higher than TCI and VHI from April to July
and November to December, while the drought
areal extent of TCI was observed to be high
from May to July. In contrast, the drought
areal extent of VHI was found to fall
somewhere in between that of TCI and VCI,
due to the equal weight given to both TCI and
VCI in the VHI calculation. All three indices
proved to be useful, quick, sufficient, and
inexpensive tools for drought monitoring;
however, each index has its own individual
strengths and weaknesses. The TCI (Thermal
Conditions Index) was found to be more
sensitive to drought conditions during the dry
season or months when high temperatures
occurred. Meanwhile, the VCI (Vegetation
Conditions Index) was found to be more
sensitive to drought conditions during the wet
season (November-December and April-July).
The VHI (Vegetation Health Index), which is
an enhancement of the TCI and VCI, was
found to provide a better understanding of
drought occurrence.
References
Dalezios N R, Blanta A, Spyropoulos N V,
Tarquis A M 2014 Risk identification of
agricultural drought for sustainable
Agroecosystems Nat. Hazards Earth
Syst. Sci. 14 2435-2448
Amarsaikhan D, Battsengel V, Nergui B,
Ganzorig M, Bolor G 2014 A study on
air pollution in Ulaanbaatar city,
Mongolia. Journal of Geoscience and
Environment Protection 2 123-128
Neri C and Briones F 2010 Assessing drought
risk and identifying policy alternatives
98
 Online available at www.cewre.edu.pk CEWRE/2_SWRM/22/012/pp:94-99
ISBN: 978-969-8670-06-01 November 16, 2022

for drought risk management. Risks, Northern Asia. Remote Sensing of

impacts and social meaning of drought: Environment 84 385-392
Characterization of the vulnerability in
Sonora, Mexico Background Paper
prepared for the 2010 Global
Assessment Report on Disaster Risk
Reduction (Geneva: UNISDR)
Zargar A, Sadiq R, Naser B, Han F I 2011 A
review of drought indices Environ. Rev.
19 333– 349
Niemeyer S 2008 New drought indices
Options Méditerranéennes Série A:
Séminaires Méditerranéens 80 267–274
Jiao W, Zhang L, Chang Q, Fu D, Cen Y,
Tong Q 2016 Evaluating and enhanced
vegetation condition index (VCI) based
on VIUPD for drought monitoring in the
continental United States Remote Sens.
8 1-21
Singh R P, Roy S, Kogan F 2013 Vegetation
and temperature condition indices from
NOAA AVHRR data for drought
monitoring over India Int. J. Remote
Sensing 24 4393-4402
Kogan F N 1995 Application of vegetation
index and brightness temperature for
drought detection Adv. Space Res. 15
91-100
Ghaleb F, Mario M, Sandra A N 2015
Regional Landsat-based drought
monitoring from 1982- 2004 Climate 3
563–577
Statistics Indonesia 2015 East Java in Figures
2015 (Surabaya: CV Media Kontruksi)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration 2016 ENSO years
Retrieved from
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/
analysis_monitoring/ensostuff/ensoyears
.shtml
Wang H, Lin H, Liu D 2014 Remotely sense
drought index and its responses to
meteorological drought in Southwest
China Remote Sensing Letters 5 413-
422
Roswintiarti O, Sofan P, Anggraini N 2011
Monitoring of drought-vulnerability area
in Java island, Indonesia using satellite
remote-sensing data Jurnal Penginderaan
Jauh 8 21–34
Xiao X, Braswell B, Xhang Q, Boles S,
Frolking S, Moore B 2002 Sensitivity of
vegetation to atmospheric aerosols:
Continental-scale observations in

Proceeding of 2nd National Conference on Sustainable Water Resources Management (SWRM-22) 99

View publication stats