NCEI Paleoclimatology Drought Variability products and datasets use tree ring data to identify droughts that occurred before modern weather monitoring systems and instruments. Researchers, farmers, and resource managers can use this data to understand long-term drought variability in a specific region or climate, and find additional context for more recent droughts.
Accessing Data at the World Data Service for Paleoclimatology
Data are grouped as
- Summer averages of the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) or
- Palmer Modified Drought Index (PMDI)
Negative Palmer Index values indicate dry conditions, while positive values indicate wet conditions. Palmer Drought Index values generally fall between -6 and +6.
Living Blended Drought Atlas (LBDA) - Version 3
The half-degree gridded June-August Palmer Modified Drought Index reconstructions for the Continental United States from Cook et al. (2010) were extended to present day. Instrumental PMDI were calculated using the NOAA Monthly U.S. Climate Gridded Dataset (NClimGrid). NCEI extends the dataset each year following release of the latest June-August instrumental values.
LBDA Data
Other Datasets
- Living Blended Drought Atlas (LBDA) PDSI Original Dataset
- Mexican Drought Atlas (MXDA) PDSI Dataset
- Monsoon Asia Drought Atlas (MADA) PDSI Dataset
- Old World Drought Atlas (OWDA) PDSI Dataset
- Eastern Australia and New Zealand Drought Atlas (ANZDA) PDSI Dataset
- European Russia Drought Atlas (ERDA) PDSI Dataset
- South American Drought Atlas (SADA) PDSI Dataset
NCEI Climate Monitoring
Explore NCEI efforts to monitor and assess the state of the Earth's climate, including current levels of drought coverage.
National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS)
Data portal that monitors current drought conditions and provides risk and impact assessment tools.
