ased on the requirement of meteorological information service,the scheme of calculating drought index was designed in consideration of three conditions using real time weather information,that is :precipitation in recent time,moisture in the soil (precipitation in earlier stage) and air temperature. The inspection of spring drought in North China in 5 years of historical data and in 1997 shows that it is quite helpful for real time monitoring and assessment of drought and ased on the requirement of meteorological information service,the scheme of calculating drought index was designed in consideration of three conditions using real time weather information,that is :precipitation in recent time,moisture in the soil (precipitation in earlier stage) and air temperature. The inspection of spring drought in North China in 5 years of historical data and in 1997 shows that it is quite helpful for real time monitoring and assessment of drought and meteorological information service.