The drought index has been developed, based on a 8.6μm surface emissivity in the 8-12μm MODIS channels over the African Sahel region (10-20 N, 13 W-35 W) and the Seoul Metropolitan Area (SMA: 37.2-37.7 N, 126.6-127.2 E). The emissivity indicates the SiO2 strength and can vary interannually by vegetation, water vapor, and soil moisture, as a potential indicator of drought conditions. In a well-vegetated region close to 10 N of the Sahel, the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) showed high sensitivity, while the emissivity did not. On the other hand, the NDVI experienced negligible variability in a poorly vegetated region near 20 N, while the emissivity reflected sensitively the effects of atmospheric water vapor and soil moisture conditions. Seasonal variations of the emissivity (0.94-0.97) have been examined over the SMA during the 2003-2004 period compared to NDVI (or Enhanced Vegetation Index; EVI). Here, the dryness was more severe in urban area with less vegetation than in suburban area; the two areas corresponded to the north and south of the Han river, respectively. The emissivity exhibiting a significant spatial correlation of ∼0.8 with the two indices can supplement their information.