This database consists of a high-resolution village-level drought dataset for major Indian states for the past 43 years (1981 – 2022) for each month. It was created by utilising the CHIRPS precipitation and GLEAM evapotranspiration datasets. GLEAMS dataset based on the well recognised Priestley-Taylor equation to estimate potential evapotranspiration (PET) based on observations of surface net radiation and near-surface air temperature. The SPEI was calculated for spatial grids of 5x5 km for the SPEI 3-month time scale, suitable for agricultural drought monitoring.This high-resolution SPEI dataset was integrated with Indian village boundaries and associated census attribute dataset. This allows researchers to perform multi-disciplinary investigations, e.g., climate migration modelling, drought hazards, and exposure assessment. The development of the dataset has been performed while keeping potential users in mind. Therefore, the dataset can be integrated into a GIS system for visualization (using .mid/.mif format) and into Python programming for modelling and analysis (using .csv). For advanced analysis, I have also provided it in netCDF format, which can be read in Python using xarray or the netcdf4 library. More details are in the README.pdf file.

Date Submitted: 2023-11-07

Issued: 2023-11-07