Soil moisture is one of the important variables in hydrological systems. Spatial and temporal dynamics of soil moisture are important for determining complex environmental process. The aim of the study is to assess the trend of soil moisture in India and to monitor agricultural drought in Medak district of Telangana state during the period 2002 to 2014. Spatio-temporal analysis has been performed on yearly basis using AMSR-E (2002–2010) and SMOS (2010–2014) soil moisture data. Soil Moisture Anomaly Percentage Index (SMAPI) is used for performing spatio-temporal analysis. It has been observed that soil moisture trend shows a dynamic pattern across the country and positive correlation with the precipitation data. Soil moisture anomalies are more in North-Western and North-Eastern part India when compared to other parts. Departure of soil moisture from its mean is used for monitoring drought. Agricultural drought monitoring in Medak district shows that the abnormal pattern of dry spell areas during a particular year matches with that of the drought years.
['Prakash Thiruvengadam', 'Y. S. Rao']
Spatio-temporal variation of soil moisture and drought monitoring using passive microwave remote sensing