MONITORING OF THE 2017 AGRICULTURAL DROUGHT THROUGH THE DROUGHT USER SERVICE OF THE DRIDANUBE PROJECT

Abstract

With the increasing frequency of dry periods in recent years, drought is becoming a constant companion of agricultural production in Slovenia. A very intense drought also occured in 2017 and severely affected agricultural production in southern and eastern Slovenia. It was characterised by a spring drought which, after an easing of the situation in May, was followed by a summer drought which intensifed and expanded until its peak in late July. At the beginning of August, the drought conditions slightly decreased, but remained severe until September when drought conditions finally came to an end. The agricultural damage it left behind was estimated at more than 65 million euros. The 2017 drought can be viewed through the Drought User Service, a drought monitoring tool which is being developed under the DriDanube project. Its prototype version is in the testing phase and currently allows insights into the state of the soil and vegetation across the Danube region through various drought indices. Their calculation is based on remote sensing data, while verification is made by observers of drought impacts in the field from all the participating countries. The Drought User Service allows both monitoring of the current drought situation and analysis of past droughts, for example, the 2017 drought described in the article. During further project implementation, the Drought User Service will be upgraded by the integration of common methodologies for drought impact assessment and yield forecast, and it will also display drought risk maps for countries in the Danube region. It is also possible to integrate additional drought indicators into the Drought User Service, including at the national level.