Droughts have become a pressing issue affecting the livelihoods of people across the globe. California has been experiencing the worst drought in 1000 years, causing severe impacts on farmers and resulting in rises in food prices and food insecurity. The situation is expected to become more prevalent in the future due to climate change. Therefore, it is imperative to carefully manage water resources and irrigation systems to mitigate the adverse effects of droughts.

Evapotranspiration refers to the process of water loss from soil and plants, which occurs through a combination of evaporation and transpiration. In agriculture, a measurement called reference evapotranspiration (ET) is used in combination with crop-specific coefficients to estimate the amount of water needed for each plant. This allows farmers to predict how much water is being lost and to plan their irrigation accordingly. Danika's project focuses on forecasting reference evapotranspiration, which can be easily applied to any crop by adding the corresponding crop coefficient.

In the future, Danika wants to expand her project to include more cities across the United States, and help water management institutions plan their water budgets.