Speaking of Drought...

World Bank Focuses on Climate Change and Development, Including Drought Mitigation

The World Bank’s 2010 World Development Report is on development and climate change. A related blog, Development in a Changing Climate, finds fresh relevance in the 10-step process for drought planning that was devised by NDMC founding director Donald A. Wilhite.  The 10-step process, first written based on the experience of U.S. states in the 1980s and 1990s, has been continuously modified and revised based on the experience of governments around the world. See http://blogs.worldbank.org/climatechange/preparation-not-procrastination-effective-drought-management.

National Integrated Drought Information System Establishes Newsletter

http://www.drought.gov/imageserver/NIDIS/newsletter/NIDIS_Fall_Winter_2009_Newsletter.pdf

The National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) has established a newsletter. The first edition, Fall 2009, features an overview of the NIDIS pilot projects. It is available on-line.

YouTube Users Animate U.S. Drought Monitor Maps

We’ve seen a recent flurry of Drought Monitor maps set to music on YouTube. Robert Osborne, a civil engineer in South Carolina who writes the Watercrunch blog, posted these: Drought Flashback, and 2007 Drought. 

Tim Vasquez, a meteorological consultant based in Norman, Oklahoma, is experimenting with uses of Drought Monitor maps. He posted Ten Years of Drought, which, in his own words, “runs through 10 years of data in an entertaining and captivating way.” Note the roving cactus.
U.S. Drought Monitor shapefiles are online in several formats.

Back to DroughtScape Fall 2009