A Composite Assessment of Agricultural Drought Susceptibility Using Analytic Hierarchy Process: Case Study of Western Region of West Bengal

Agricultural drought is a recurrent natural phenomenon that needs to be addressed with care and attention. The Purulia and Bankura districts of West Bengal faced severe agricultural drought several times in the recent decade. But the agricultural drought-related scenario in these area is far from the conclusive statement till date. This research has shown the demarcated agricultural drought susceptibility zone in Bankura and Purulia districts by using analytic hierarchy process and weighted overlay techniques. At first, different agricultural drought indices are estimated using remote sensing-based satellite imagery. From MODIS (1 km spatial resolution), evapotranspiration (ET) and land surface temperature (LST) are estimated. In the next step, land surface temperature data is utilized to make Temperature Condition Index (TCI). From Landsat satellite data (30 m spatial resolution), Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), and Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) are constructed. From Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Vegetation Condition Index (VCI) is estimated. The VCI and TCI are again utilized to make Vegetation Health Index (VHI). From ERA-Interim and SWAT data, respectively, Soil Moisture Condition Index (SMCI) and Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) are estimated. ET, VHI, NDWI, EVI, SMCI, and SPI are finally utilized to make drought susceptibility zonation using analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The northwestern portions of Bankura and northeastern portions of Purulia are prone to extreme drought (39% area). The rest portions are affected by the mild to moderate drought (41% area). The study uses a unique methodological framework that can be applicable in any region of the world.