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Detection of drought-risky zones with meteorological satellites

Tall Fatou, Touré Assize, P. Boubacar Soumaré
Centre de Suivi Ecologique de Dakar/Senegal, Bp 15532, Dakar-Fann, Senegal, West Africa.
Tel. : +221-825-8066, Fax: +221-825-8168,
E-mail: soumare@cse.cse.sn

Abstract:
The CSE (Centre de Suivi Ecologique) is a national environmental monitoring Centre, whose aim is to collect, process and distribute data and ground informations related to natural resources and early warning.

In collaboration with AGRHYMET Centre (Regional centre for early warning in nine West African countries of the CILSS), CSE has developed a software to detect the risky areas in agriculture, using satellites (METEOSAT and NOAA images) and the rainfall ground data collected by meteorological services. Risky areas are zones where crops installation was delayed due to the fact that the rain season begun late or crops failed. The software provides detection and monitoring of these areas and help farmers to get appropriate information on the rainy season. The maps give help the government and donors to take the best decisions for the end of the raining season.

For early warning in the Sahelian African countries, this kind of product is very interesting because it is not easy to collect more ground data to anticipate events like disasters or drought.