The Australian Agricultural Drought Indicators (AADI) project, formerly known as the Drought Early Warning System (DEWS), was established in April 2022 by the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF). The project was established in response to reviews of the 2018–2019 and 2019–2020 drought events, which identified a need to develop new drought indicators and generally improve the Australian government’s drought monitoring and forecasting capability (see ABARES 2022).
The AADI project combines weather data and forecasts with agricultural modelling to predict the impacts of drought on agricultural outcomes across Australia. The project involves the development of data processing and modelling systems, and an online user interface as part of the Climate Services for Agriculture (CSA) platform.
This project has been undertaken by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) in partnership with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), and with input from the Queensland Department of Environment and Science (DES). This report details progress of the first stage of the AADI project including the development of an initial protype.