Monitoring agricultural drought in Kırşehir using satellite data

Drought is a natural disaster that negatively affects living beings. This natural hazard can affect the development of agricultural products and cause a decrease in yield. In this study, it was aimed to determine the agricultural drought change of the study area by calculating the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Normalized Difference Moisture Index (NDMI) and Ground Surface Temperature (GST) using the cloudless Landsat 8 OLI satellite images of Kırşehir between the years 2013-2023. A total of 58 satellite images from the years 2013-2023 were used in the study. NDVI, NDMI and GST were applied to each satellite image in the ArcGIS program and maps were created. The averages of the calculated values ​​on a yearly basis were also taken. The areas covered by the used indices in the study area were calculated and their graphics were created. Although there are fluctuations in high humidity rates according to NDVI values, an increasing trend is observed. According to GST values, there are fluctuations in low ground surface temperature. It is observed that high humidity and low ground surface temperature in the study area are parallel to healthy vegetation. In addition, Hirfanlı Dam and Seyfe Lake in the study area generally affect the averages as they indicate high humidity, low ground surface temperature and lands devoid of vegetation. Since the study area is a semi-arid area, increases and decreases in these indices will continue in the future. Therefore, changes in the indices should be continued to be monitored. This situation is very important especially for the agricultural sector.