New Web Site Provides Detailed Information on Droughts
The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
recently launched a Web site that provides comprehensive information on
emerging and ongoing droughts across the nation.
The U.S. Drought Portal (www.drought.gov)
was developed for the National Integrated Drought Information System
(NIDIS), a collaboration between numerous federal agencies and several
state governments to provide a dynamic and accessible drought-risk
information system.
"The new portal site provides all the information that managers need
in one location and delivers unprecedented access to key operational
drought resources to answer the most pressing questions facing
policymakers, emergency planners, businesses and the public," said
Conrad Lautenbacher, NOAA administrator.
NIDIS, led by NOAA, coordinates use of the U.S. Drought Portal for
drought risk assessment and management among its federal, state, tribal
and local partners. The collaboration is intended to strengthen public
and private sector partnerships, foster and support research, create an
early warning system to detect drought and raise public awareness about
why drought occurs and its impact on humans and nature. The goal of
NIDIS is to improve the ability to understand and respond to climate
change, natural disasters, and global environmental issues through
better observation, data, analysis, models and basic social science
research.