Drought Monitoring in Iraq for the Period 1982-2023 Using the Google Earth Engine Platform

Ali Z.A. Al-Ozeer; Wael noori  Mrzah; Mohammed Fakhraldeen  Ahmed

Article Details

Drought Monitoring in Iraq for the Period 1982-2023 Using the Google Earth Engine Platform

Authors:

Ali Z.A. Al-Ozeer | Wael noori Mrzah | Mohammed Fakhraldeen Ahmed

Publisher:

Iraqi Geologists Union (Union of Iraqi Geologists)

Journal:

The Iraqi Geological Journal Vol.59 Issue 1A, pp.225-234

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

1/2026

Document Language:

English

Document ID (Org No.):

2001836962

pISSN:

2663-8754

Keywords:

Abstract:

 Drought is one of the harmful outcomes of severe climate change and global warming. Therefore, drought and its impacts on natural ecosystems must be monitored. It becomes difficult to detect drought directly in places where there is a scarcity of drought monitoring stations (which record changes in climatic factors). This research studied drought in Iraq from 1982 to 2023 (41 years) using remote sensing-retrieved drought indices. The remotely sensed indicators comprised the Temperature Condition Index, Vegetation Condition Index, and Vegetation Health Index. The Google Earth Engine platform was used to calculate the previous indicators using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer and Landsat data. Data processing on this platform was highly efficient.. During the research period, the rate of areas vulnerable to drought increased dramatically, from 145,000 to 214,000 square kilometers. The area exposed to drought was estimated using a GIS program by calculating the areas covered by the Vegetation Health Index value, which ranges between 0 and 40 and represents the green lands exposed to drought. This study indicates that Iraq loses approximately 673,000 dunums annually. If these data remain in the same pattern of increase, the dry land rate is expected to reach 241,000 square kilometers during the year 2033.

Article Details

Drought Monitoring in Iraq for the Period 1982-2023 Using the Google Earth Engine Platform

Authors: Ali Z.A. Al-Ozeer | Wael noori Mrzah | Mohammed Fakhraldeen Ahmed

Publisher: Iraqi Geologists Union (Union of Iraqi Geologists)

Journal: The Iraqi Geological Journal Vol.59 Issue 1A, pp.225-234

Document Type: Article

Publication Date: 1/2026

Document Language: English

Document ID (Org No.): 2001836962

pISSN: 2663-8754

Temperature Condition Index

Vegetation Condition Index

Vegetation Health Index

Google Earth Engine

Drought

Issues

Authors:

Ali Z.A. Al-Ozeer | Wael noori Mrzah | Mohammed Fakhraldeen Ahmed

Publisher:

Iraqi Geologists Union (Union of Iraqi Geologists)

Journal:

The Iraqi Geological Journal Vol.59 Issue 1A, pp.225-234

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

1/2026

Document Language:

English

Document ID (Org No.):

2001836962

pISSN:

2663-8754