ADMA is a near-real-time system that uses Earth Observation and Weather information to monitor drought conditions in Africa. It contains drought-relevant information such as maps of indicators derived from different data sources (e.g., precipitation measurements, satellite measurements, and modelled soil moisture content). Different tools, like Graphs that allow for displaying and analysing the information and drought reports, give an overview of the situation in case of imminent droughts. When installing a Drought Monitoring system in a regional meteorological agency, the system offers the possibility to automate data-inception, control, interpolation, computation of anomalies, and high-quality web mapping.

Drought is a climate extreme characterised by persistent unusual dry weather conditions affecting the hydrological balance. The conditions are usually associated with lack of precipitation and, deficit in soil moisture and water reservoir storage, leading to widespread impacts. Accordingly, droughts can be characterized in terms of their severity, location, duration, and timing. Droughts can arise from a range of hydrometeorological processes that suppress precipitation and/or limit surface water or groundwater availability, creating conditions that are significantly drier than normal or otherwise limiting moisture availability to a potentially damaging extent (Handbook of Drought Indicators and Indices, WMO-No. 1173).