SATELLITE-BASED COMBINED DROUGHT INDEX FOR MONSOON REGIONS: INTEGRATING SWDI AND AWD FOR ENHANCED DROUGHT MONITORING IN THE KOREAN PENINSULA

Speaker: Doyoung Kim, Department of Global Smart City, Sungkyunkwan University, Republic of KoreaClimate change intensifies precipitation imbalance, increasing droughts and floods, particularly in monsoon regions with concentrated summer rainfall. Remote sensing plays a crucial role in large-scale drought monitoring through indices like SWDI, AWD, SPI, and SESR. However, current indices often fail to capture the complexity of drought due to their focus on specific factors. This study integrates SWDI and AWD using SMAP soil moisture, MODIS evapotranspiration, and GPM precipitation data to develop a composite drought index (CDI) via principal component analysis. Spatial and temporal analyses across Korea reveal distinct drought patterns, underscoring the need for integrated monitoring for better drought management.