Space-Based Drought Changes in 1980–2017 and Climate Warming

Environmental observations over the last three decades have shown considerable increase in global temperature and global changes in snow and ice cover, sea level, biological systems timing (plants, birds etc) and others. The last twenty years satellite records have shown earlier seasonal vegetation greening, especially in the northern latitudes. Currently, fifteen more years were added to the satellite records requiring re-evaluation of vegetation trends. NOAA/NESDIS has recently updated long-term satellite records produced from NOAA/AVHRR and SNPP/VIIRS data. These innovations permitted to develop the new 37-year Global Vegetation Health (GVH) dataset and products (greenness, moisture and thermal conditions, drought etc). This paper investigates the 37-year land greenness changes following an intensive climate warming.