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.
Live preview
Press ESC to leave fullscreen. Settings are saved in your browser only.
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.