Following a restructuring of the World Meteorological Association (WMO), Elizabeth Weight, (National Integrated Drought Information System) NIDIS Program Coordinator, was nominated to the new WMO Standing Committee on Agricultural Services' Expert Team on Drought. Composed of eight members from around the world, the Expert Team on Drought met on April 8, 2021 to plan objectives and outputs for the next two years in coordination with other global expert teams. The team aims to provide major improvements in drought preparedness, drought resilience, user engagement, and drought policy for agriculture, globally.

The team expects to generate the following:

• A report that summarizes global drought impacts, preparedness, resilience, management, policy, and effective user-engagement practices.
• A report on the status of drought-monitoring systems, outlooks, impacts, and assessment of possible agricultural yield losses due to drought and preparedness in the WMO regions.
• Guidance material on how to clearly communicate the existing definitions of drought, drought triggers, and the various components of the lifecycle of drought.
• A framework and standards for a Global Drought Indicator to be included in the Global Multi-hazard Alert System (GMAS).
• An updated Handbook of Drought Indicators and Indices (WMO No. 1173).

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