Drought Monitor Screensaver
The Drought Monitor screensaver is a live world map of soil moisture, shading from lush green to parched brown across major cities by how wet or dry the ground is, from the key-less Open-Meteo soil data. It's free, runs in your browser, and ESC exits.
How the Drought Monitor screensaver works
The saver reads near-surface soil moisture for a built-in list of major world cities (including Toronto, Vancouver, Montréal and Calgary) from Open-Meteo's soil data.
Each city is plotted on a world map shaded from parched brown and orange where the ground is bone-dry to lush green where it's wet.
The driest spots grow larger and redder, so emerging drought stands out at a glance.
It refreshes every few minutes as rain and heat change the ground.
A worked example
During a dry summer you'll watch the U.S. Southwest and parts of the Mediterranean glow parched brown while rain-soaked regions stay deep green — the driest cities labelled, a quiet picture of where the land is thirsty.
Settings & tips
- Refresh sets how often the readings update.
- Background sets the map backdrop.
- The legend runs from dry (brown) to wet (green).
Frequently asked questions
- Is the soil data live?
- Yes. The near-surface soil moisture for every city comes live from Open-Meteo and refreshes every few minutes.
- Is this an official drought monitor?
- No. It's a soil-moisture snapshot for ambiance, not an official drought assessment, though it tracks the same underlying dryness.
- Does it need a key?
- No. Open-Meteo is free and key-less; the saver only needs an internet connection.
- Which cities are shown?
- A built-in spread of major world cities across every continent, including several Canadian ones.
- Is it free?
- Yes — free, no download, in your browser.