Analysis of drought severity and vegetation condition prediction using satellite remote sensing indices in Kolar and Chikkaballapura Districts, Karnataka State

Drought is a natural hazard with far-reaching effects including economic losses, and soil damages, and threatens the health of residents and livelihood. The present research aimed to observe the vegetation health index across the semi-arid regions of Karnataka state in 2015–2019 using GIS and remote sensing techniques. Landsat-8 dataset images, with a 30 m spatial resolution and from various platforms were used to recognize the Vegetation Condition Index (VCI) and Temperature Condition Index (TCI). The VCI is dependent on the NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) datasets. The Temperature Condition Index used LST (land surface temperature datasets). As an outcome, the Vegetation Health Index (VHI) was generated and classified into 5 categories of drought: no drought, mild, moderate, severe, and extreme drought. The results indicate that the highest % of the extreme agricultural drought found in Chinthamani taluk is about 740.20 squares Km (20%) area. In the S-W monsoon showed Bagepalli is about 397.70 squares Km (18%), and Sidhlaghatta taluk is about 26% (338.55 squares Km). In the North-east Monsoon extreme drought severity was affected in Malur at 22% (704.05 squares Km), Mulubhagilu at 26% (909.99 squares Km), and Bangarapete at 21% (879.64 sq. km) of the area have severely affected the agriculture and vegetation from 2015–2019 respectively. Severe to moderate drought occurred in the north–east part of both areas of Kolar and Chikkaballapura districts. 2016 and 2017 experienced a less level of drought % with compared to the other study years. This study allows the monitoring of decision-makers, resolves drought conditions, and investigates more beneficially.