Tumakuru district of Karnataka state is situated in the semiarid climatic region which is considered most sensitive area/zone in response to climate change. This study analyses the spatio-temporal changes of meteorological drought in the Tumakuru district during 1951-2019. To understand the spatial and temporal characteristics of drought, annual and seasonal drought trends were examined using standardized precipitation index. Based on three-seasons, pre-monsoon (January -May), southwest monsoon (June -September), northeast monsoon (October-December) the annual SPI were calculated. Characteristics, classification and the threshold value of drought classes were determined. The correlation between precipitation and SPI was similar and showed the strong correlation. The wettest (1962 & 2006), and driest years (1968,1954, 1965, & 1976) during the study were identified. The higher frequency distribution of the driest years addresses roughly 57% drought years detected for Madhugiri and Tumakuru (1) in SW-monsoon of the total years of study, in pre-monsoon Kunigal have 21.73%, and in NE-monsoon it was 50.72 % at Kunigal. In the district southwest monsoon is long spell rainy season which is contributing 54% of total rainfall and advantageous for early stage of Rabi and maturation of Kharif crops. Maximum evaporation from soil and vegetation measured by potential evaporation which is the criteria of the water consumption by crops. In the event of monsoon failure and very less rainfall during southwest monsoon, farmers could not able to sow new crops and existing rain-fed crops would be decimated.

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Drought is a natural hazard with far-reaching effects including economic losses, and soil damages, and threatens the health of residents and livelihood. The present research aimed to observe the vegetation health index across the semi-arid regions of Karnataka state in 2015–2019 using GIS and remote sensing techniques. Landsat-8 dataset images, with a 30 m spatial resolution and from various platforms were used to recognize the Vegetation Condition Index (VCI) and Temperature Condition Index (TCI). The VCI is dependent on the NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) datasets. The Temperature Condition Index used LST (land surface temperature datasets). As an outcome, the Vegetation Health Index (VHI) was generated and classified into 5 categories of drought: no drought, mild, moderate, severe, and extreme drought. The results indicate that the highest % of the extreme agricultural drought found in Chinthamani taluk is about 740.20 squares Km (20%) area. In the S-W monsoon showed Bagepalli is about 397.70 squares Km (18%), and Sidhlaghatta taluk is about 26% (338.55 squares Km). In the North-east Monsoon extreme drought severity was affected in Malur at 22% (704.05 squares Km), Mulubhagilu at 26% (909.99 squares Km), and Bangarapete at 21% (879.64 sq. km) of the area have severely affected the agriculture and vegetation from 2015–2019 respectively. Severe to moderate drought occurred in the north–east part of both areas of Kolar and Chikkaballapura districts. 2016 and 2017 experienced a less level of drought % with compared to the other study years. This study allows the monitoring of decision-makers, resolves drought conditions, and investigates more beneficially.