Lesotho Subnational NDVI: Dekadal Vegetation Indices and Anomalies

A source of dekadal (10-day) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) indicators for Lesotho, aggregated by sub-national administrative units using NASA MODIS collection 6.1 satellite data. Produced by the World Food Programme (WFP), the records track vegetation health through current values, long-term averages, and percentage anomalies. The data is formatted for integration with WFP administrative boundaries using standardized Pcode references.

Use Cases

• Monitoring drought severity by analyzing the NDVI anomaly percentage (viq) across different dekads
• Assessing agricultural productivity by comparing current vegetation (vim) against the long-term average (vim_lta)
• Spatial analysis of environmental trends by joining Pcode references with administrative shapefiles

Strengths

• Derived from NASA MODIS collection 6.1 high-quality satellite imagery
• Includes vim_lta for direct comparison against historical baselines
• Provides n_pixels column to verify the data density of each aggregate

Limitations

• Geographically restricted to Lesotho
• Aggregation to administrative levels obscures sub-unit spatial variability present in raw satellite imagery

Provenance

Source

World Food Programme (WFP) via NASA MODIS collection 6.1

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing data from MODIS Aqua and Terra sensors aggregated to WFP administrative units

Freshness

Last updated March 2026.

Geography

Lesotho