A score from 0 to 100 that says how green the land is compared with the same month in every year since 2001. 0 is the worst seen at that spot, 100 the best. Because each patch is compared with itself, a dry desert and a wet highland can be read on the same scale.

Why does it match NDMA's numbers only roughly?

NDMA uses the same idea and the same bands but its own processing of the MODIS data and its own pasture mask, so the two figures are close but not identical. Use NDMA's bulletin for official decisions in Kenya.

How do I find a water point's coordinates?

Stand at it with a phone and tap "Here", or long-press the spot in Google Maps or OpenStreetMap and copy the two numbers. Put the latitude first.

How often can I run it?

As often as you like, up to 15 new questions a day. The pasture figure changes about every two weeks, when a new satellite image is ready, so once or twice a month is plenty.

Can I use the answer in a report?

Yes, in reports, funding bids, meetings and on notice boards. Keep the line "Generated at TechnicalGIS.com" and the data credits. Each answer has its own link and is kept for 90 days.

How are the pasture and the water points this month?

Choose a district and, if you like, up to three water points. We send back a one-page bulletin: how green the grazing is compared with every year since 2001, how much rain fell, and whether each water point still holds water. It's built for county and district officers, NGOs and herder groups, and takes two or three minutes.

1. Choose your district

Country

2. Water points to check (optional)

Add up to three pans, dams or boreholes with open water. Latitude first, as in 3.1194, 35.5973. Copy it from Google Maps or OpenStreetMap, use your phone's location, or tap the map.

Water point 1

Water point 2

Water point 3

Choose a country and a district first.

Usually ready in two to three minutes. Free, up to 15 new questions a day each; answers we've already worked out are instant and don't count. Privacy.

Choose a country to see its districts, then tap one to pick it.

District boundaries from geoBoundaries, simplified for the web.

See all the community tools, or Farm check for one farm.

How it works

Pasture. For every 250 m patch of grassland and shrubland, we place this month's greenness from the MODIS satellites between the worst (0) and best (100) it has been in the same month since 2001. That is the vegetation condition index (VCI). We average it over the district and over the last three months, which is the figure Kenya's National Drought Management Authority uses in its county bulletins.
Drought bands. We use the NDMA bands: below 10 is extreme drought, 10 to 20 severe, 21 to 34 moderate, 35 to 50 normal and above 50 greener than normal.
Rain. CHIRPS satellite rainfall for the last three complete months, compared with 1991 to 2020.
Water points. For each point you add, we measure the open water within 500 m in the clearest Sentinel-2 image this month or last, and compare it with the same month in other years.

The bulletin shows how green the land is. It can't see how much grass is left after the herds have been through, so pair it with what herders and field monitors tell you.

You get a short answer with the big numbers, a one-page sheet to print, a text message you can copy or send on WhatsApp, and the figures as a spreadsheet (CSV).

Official sources

We check the satellite record. For warnings and advice, go to the people whose job it is:

NDMA Kenya : official monthly drought bulletins for every arid and semi-arid county in Kenya.
FEWS NET : food security outlooks for pastoral areas across East Africa, the Sahel and beyond.
FAO Locust Watch : desert locust situation and forecasts. We don't forecast locusts ourselves.

Data and credits

Licences checked on each provider's own page, last on 29 October 2026.

Source	Licence	Credit
MODIS MOD13Q1 v061 vegetation index	NASA open data, no restrictions on use	MODIS MOD13Q1 v061: Didan, K. (2021). NASA EOSDIS LP DAAC. https://doi.org/10.5067/MODIS/MOD13Q1.061. Accessed via Microsoft Planetary Computer. Use does not imply endorsement by NASA.
CHIRPS v3 rainfall	CC BY 4.0	UCSB Climate Hazards Center CHIRPS version 3.0, processed by dynamical.org. Funk, C. et al. (2026), Sci Data 13, 718. https://doi.org/10.15780/G2JQ0P. CC BY 4.0.
Copernicus Sentinel-2 Level-2A imagery	Copernicus Sentinel data legal notice (free, full and open use, including commercial)	Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2017–2026, accessed through Microsoft Planetary Computer.
geoBoundaries administrative boundaries	Per country (CC BY, ODbL or open government licence)	Runfola, D. et al. (2020) geoBoundaries: A global database of political administrative boundaries. PLoS ONE 15(4): e0231866.

Questions

What is VCI?: A score from 0 to 100 that says how green the land is compared with the same month in every year since 2001. 0 is the worst seen at that spot, 100 the best. Because each patch is compared with itself, a dry desert and a wet highland can be read on the same scale.
Why does it match NDMA's numbers only roughly?: NDMA uses the same idea and the same bands but its own processing of the MODIS data and its own pasture mask, so the two figures are close but not identical. Use NDMA's bulletin for official decisions in Kenya.
How do I find a water point's coordinates?: Stand at it with a phone and tap "Here", or long-press the spot in Google Maps or OpenStreetMap and copy the two numbers. Put the latitude first.
How often can I run it?: As often as you like, up to 15 new questions a day. The pasture figure changes about every two weeks, when a new satellite image is ready, so once or twice a month is plenty.
Can I use the answer in a report?: Yes, in reports, funding bids, meetings and on notice boards. Keep the line "Generated at TechnicalGIS.com" and the data credits. Each answer has its own link and is kept for 90 days.

See real answers for real places, all the community tools or read what we're for. Need it for a whole region or every month? Talk to us.