DS-00 Datasheet
A drought reading for each of your regions, monthly, on one baseline.
Vegetation index anomalies against a multi-decade baseline, as an anomaly value and a severity tier per region.
Spec table
- GSD
- Wide / 10–30 m
- Cadence
- Monthly
- Platform
- Wide-swath satellite
- Spectral
- Multispectral
- Baseline
- Multi-decade, as far back as the archive covers your region
- Formats
- CSV or map layer
- Delivery unit
- One anomaly value and one severity tier per region per month
The files
- Deliverable
- Anomaly index
- Format
- CSV
- What's in it
- One row per region per month. Fields: region ID, month, vegetation index value, baseline mean for that calendar month, anomaly, and z-score against the baseline. Keyed to the region IDs you supply, so it joins straight onto your exposure table.
- Cadence
- Monthly
- Deliverable
- Severity tier
- Format
- CSV column
- What's in it
- A drought severity class for each region and month, taken from the z-score. The tier boundaries are written out in the delivery notes so your trigger design can use them or replace them with your own.
- Cadence
- Monthly
- Deliverable
- Map layer
- Format
- GeoPackage or GeoJSON
- What's in it
- The same values on your region polygons, for the programme review deck or a GIS check against your own boundaries. Refreshed on the same monthly schedule.
- Cadence
- Monthly
- Deliverable
- Baseline series
- Format
- CSV
- What's in it
- The full monthly history for each region across the baseline period, delivered once at the start. This is what you calibrate a trigger against, so the current month and the past sit on one scale.
- Cadence
- Once, at the start
- Deliverable
- Delivery notes
- Format
- PDF or Markdown
- What's in it
- Per month: the scenes used, any region with cloud gaps, and the baseline period in force. Written so a reviewer can see what each number stands on.
- Cadence
- Monthly
How it works
- 01 IN
Supply the regions
Region boundaries as a shapefile or GeoPackage, or admin codes, with your own IDs. Say which cropping or grazing seasons matter to your product.
- 02 CHECK
Baseline check
Before delivery is agreed, we check how deep the usable archive goes for your regions and report the baseline period you would get.
- 03 RUN
Monthly pass
Wide-swath multispectral imagery for the month is processed, the vegetation index is computed for each region, and compared with the baseline for that calendar month.
- 04 OUT
Delivery
Anomaly value and severity tier per region, as CSV or a map layer, once the month has closed.
Limits
- Condition
- Measurement, not forecast
- Effect on the output
- The index describes vegetation condition in the month just past, against history. It says nothing about the months ahead.
- Condition
- Vegetation is not rainfall
- Effect on the output
- A dry spell shows in vegetation after a lag, and vegetation also responds to irrigation, grazing pressure, pests and fire. The anomaly is not attributed to a weather event.
- Condition
- Cloud can delay or gap a month
- Effect on the output
- Some cloud is tolerated. Persistent cover can delay a region's update or leave a gap, which is flagged in the delivery notes rather than filled.
- Condition
- Baseline length varies
- Effect on the output
- The baseline runs as far back as the archive allows for your region. Some regions have a longer clean record than others, and the baseline check tells you which before you commit.
- Condition
- 10–30 m is a regional floor
- Effect on the output
- At this resolution a region or landscape has plenty of pixels. A single small farm does not, and its value is not reliable.
- Condition
- Monthly only
- Effect on the output
- One read per month. A trigger that needs a weekly or dekadal time step needs a different data source.
Why this exists
Index triggers and programme targets often rest on last season's rainfall totals or one ground report from a single visit. Rainfall is a stand-in for what the policy covers, which is how the crop or pasture is doing. When the two disagree you find out at renewal, with a bad season on the ground and no trigger, or a payout in a green year. A vegetation series measures the thing itself, and it needs building region by region on one baseline. Product teams often have no time to build that.
Who it's for
For
- Parametric and index insurance analysts, actuaries and catastrophe modellers pricing or monitoring a drought trigger by region.
- Programme teams at relief agencies or development bodies choosing where to target support.
- Teams that already hold rainfall data and want a vegetation-based read alongside it.
Not for
- Anyone looking for a drought forecast or seasonal outlook. This reports what has happened.
- Claims assessment on individual farms. That needs field-level data.
- Teams who want a payout figure or a finished trigger design. The index is supplied, the trigger and terms stay yours.
FAQ
Does it predict future drought?
No. It measures current vegetation condition against history. It is not a forecast.
Can it set my payout trigger?
It supplies the index. Trigger levels, payout terms and basis-risk testing are yours to set.
How far back does the baseline go?
As far as the usable satellite archive goes for your regions. The baseline check reports the length before any work is agreed.
What happens in a cloudy month?
Some cloud is tolerated. If cover persists, the region's value is late or missing, and the delivery notes say so. Nothing is filled in.
Can I use my own severity tiers?
Yes. The z-score is delivered next to the tier, so you can classify on your own thresholds.
Does it work for individual small farms?
Not reliably. At 10–30 m it suits regions and landscapes.
How do I check it against my own data?
Join the series onto your rainfall, yield or loss records by region ID and month. The baseline series gives you the past to test against.
Who owns the data, and how is it priced?
Use and ownership terms are written into the contract before work starts. The public satellite archives keep their own licences. Each project is scoped and quoted on its own, with a written scope for procurement.
Send the regions and we'll tell you how deep the baseline goes.
Or ask about your book .