Like the Penman equation, the Penman–Monteith equation (after Howard Penman and John Monteith) approximates net evapotranspiration (ET), requiring as input daily mean temperature, wind speed, relative humidity and solar radiation. Other than radiation, these parameter are implicit in the derivation of , , and , if not conductances below.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) standard methods for modeling evapotranspiration use a Penman–Monteith equation. The standard methods of the American Society of Civil Engineers modify that Penman–Monteith equation for use with an hourly time step. The SWAT model is one of many GIS-integrated hydrologic models estimating ET using Penman–Monteith equations.