The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay has launched KrishiDrought.in, a public web portal that publishes weekly agricultural drought forecasts for India. The institute says the forecasts can warn of dry conditions up to four weeks in advance, with outputs provided at the district level.
IIT Bombay describes the system as combining satellite observations, hydroclimatic datasets and dynamical forecasts, alongside deep learning models. The approach tracks changes in soil moisture and flags areas where agricultural drought is developing, using a spatial resolution of roughly 9 km. The portal is intended for farmers, government agencies and other stakeholders to support planning and decision-making ahead of potential crop losses, though the announcement does not detail distribution or how end users will act on the information.
Across coverage, one outlet highlights the fusion of satellite data and AI methods, while another focuses on the development of the portal and its four-week lead time. One report also includes additional details on the research group credited with building the platform and notes its launch during IIT Bombay’s Golden Jubilee celebrations.
