Temperature Condition Index (TCI)
Index name: Temperature Condition Index (TCI).
Ease of use: Green.
Origins: Developed from work done by Kogan with NOAA in the United States.
Characteristics: Using AVHRR thermal bands, TCI is used to determine stress on vegetation caused by temperatures and excessive wetness. Conditions are estimated relative to the maximum and minimum temperatures and modified to reflect different vegetation responses to temperature.
Input parameters: AVHRR satellite data.
Applications: Used in conjunction with NDVI and the Vegetation Condition Index (VCI) for drought assessment of vegetation in situations where agricultural impacts are the primary concern.
Strengths: High resolution and good spatial coverage.
Weaknesses: Potential for cloud contamination as well as a short period of record.
Resources: Methodology and calculations are provided in the literature and online resources of products are available at the NOAA STAR – Global Vegetation Health Products webpage.
Reference: Kogan, F.N., 1995: Application of vegetation index and brightness temperature for drought detection. Advances in Space Research, 15(11): 91–100. DOI: 10.1016/0273-1177(95)00079-T. (For more information on this paper, please contact the IDMP HelpDesk).
Currently used by: Iran.