scholarly journals Analysis of Characteristics of Hydrological and Meteorological Drought Evolution in Southwest China

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 1846
Author(s):  
Han Tang ◽  
Tong Wen ◽  
Peng Shi ◽  
Simin Qu ◽  
Lanlan Zhao ◽  
...  

Based on the data of 82 meteorological stations and six representative hydrological stations in four provinces in Southwest China (Guizhou, Sichuan, Yunnan, Chongqing), this paper uses standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) and standardized runoff index (SRI) to analyze the spatial and temporal evolution characteristics of drought in the study area from 1968 to 2018. Combined with the Southwest monsoon index and historical drought data, the correlation of drought and the applicability of different drought indices were verified. The results show that: (1) SPEI-12 in Southwest China shows a downward trend from 1968 to 2018, with a linear trend rate of −0.074/10a, and SPEI-3 has a downward trend in four seasons, the maximum linear trend rate being −0.106/10a in autumn;(2) The change in SRI-12 and SRI-24 value directly reflected the decrease in SRI value, indicating that drought events are increasing in recent times, especially in the 21st century (3). Severe drought occurred in the south of Southwest China, as indicated by the increase of drought frequency in this area. The main reason for the variations in the frequency distribution of drought in Southwest China is the combined effect of the change of precipitation and evapotranspiration. (4) The correlation between hydrological drought index and disaster areas is stronger than the correlation between meteorological drought and disaster areas.

2018 ◽  
Vol 38 ◽  
pp. 01021
Author(s):  
Wu Jianfeng ◽  
Yu Luqin ◽  
Cao Guangjie ◽  
Li Wei

In this paper, the daily precipitation data of 19 meteorological stations in Guizhou Province from 1961 to 2015 are used. Using GIS spatial analysis method and linear trend analysis method, the distribution characteristics of annual and seasonal precipitation in Guizhou province were analyzed from space and time. The results show that: (1) From the perspective of spatial distribution, annual precipitation is generally less in the south and north and less in the east and west. The precipitation in winter and spring is east-west distribution and decreases from east to west in the four seasons. The precipitation in summer is roughly north-south and south-north less. The precipitation in autumn is mainly concentrated in southwest Guizhou and Chishui valley. (2) From the time distribution point of view, the precipitation in Guizhou Province showed a general downward trend, of which the precipitation in spring, autumn and winter showed a decreasing trend, the downward trend in autumn was more obvious, and the precipitation in summer increased but not obviously.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (7) ◽  
pp. 1513-1530 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lingcheng Li ◽  
Dunxian She ◽  
Hui Zheng ◽  
Peirong Lin ◽  
Zong-Liang Yang

AbstractThis study elucidates drought characteristics in China during 1980–2015 using two commonly used meteorological drought indices: standardized precipitation index (SPI) and standardized precipitation–evapotranspiration index (SPEI). The results show that SPEI characterizes an overall increase in drought severity, area, and frequency during 1998–2015 compared with those during 1980–97, mainly due to the increasing potential evapotranspiration. By contrast, SPI does not reveal this phenomenon since precipitation does not exhibit a significant change overall. We further identify individual drought events using the three-dimensional (i.e., longitude, latitude, and time) clustering algorithm and apply the severity–area–duration (SAD) method to examine the drought spatiotemporal dynamics. Compared to SPI, SPEI identifies a lower drought frequency but with larger total drought areas overall. Additionally, SPEI identifies a greater number of severe drought events but a smaller number of slight drought events than the SPI. Approximately 30% of SPI-detected drought grids are not identified as drought by SPEI, and 40% of SPEI-detected drought grids are not recognized as drought by SPI. Both indices can roughly capture the major drought events, but SPEI-detected drought events are overall more severe than SPI. From the SAD analysis, SPI tends to identify drought as more severe over small areas within 1 million km2 and short durations less than 2 months, whereas SPEI tends to delineate drought as more severe across expansive areas larger than 3 million km2 and periods longer than 3 months. Given the fact that potential evapotranspiration increases in a warming climate, this study suggests SPEI may be more suitable than SPI in monitoring droughts under climate change.


2020 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kee An Hong ◽  
Jer Lang Hong ◽  
Izihan Ibrahim

In this study, drought occurrence in the Melaka basin has been assessed using the meteorological and hydrological drought indices. A continuous rainfall and streamflow data of 40 years were used for drought analysis. Results show that in terms of meteorological drought index, the severe drought occurred in 1986-1988. The streamflow drought index indicates that the extreme drought occurred in 1982-1984. Further analysis based on seasonal precipitation and streamflow data shows that there is no drought for 79% of the time for the period 1960-2000 where there are hydrological records. For most of the dry and wet seasons, it is more likely that the frequency of occurrence of hydrological droughts only is higher than the frequency of occurrence of meteorological and hydrological droughts simultaneously or only meteorological droughts.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel H. Mlenga ◽  
Andries J. Jordaan

The spatiotemporal analysis of drought is of great importance to Eswatini as the country has been facing recurring droughts with negative impacts on agriculture, the environment and the economy. In 2016, the country experienced the most severe drought in over 35 years, resulting in food shortages, drying up of rivers as well as livestock deaths. The frequent occurrence of extreme drought events makes the use of drought indices essential for drought monitoring, early warning and planning. The aim of this study was to assess the applicability of the Standard Precipitation Index (SPI) for near real-time and retrospective drought monitoring in Eswatini. The 3-, 6- and 12-month SPI were computed to analyse the severity and onset of meteorological drought between 1986 and 2017. The results indicated that the climate of Eswatini exhibits geospatial and temporal variability. Droughts intensified in terms of frequency, severity and geospatial coverage, with the worst drought years being 1985–1986, 2005–2006 and 2015–2016 agricultural seasons. Moderate droughts were the most prevalent, while the frequency of severe and very severe droughts was low. Most parts of the country were vulnerable to mild and moderate agricultural droughts. Spatial analysis showed that the most severe and extreme droughts were mostly experienced in the Lowveld and Middleveld agro-ecological zones. The 3-, 6- and 12-month SPI computations conducted in January detected the onset of early season drought, thereby affirming the applicability of the index for monitoring near real-time and retrospective droughts in Eswatini. Drought monitoring using the SPI provides information for early warning, particularly in drought-prone areas, by depicting a drought before the effects are felt.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qingping Cheng ◽  
Lu Gao ◽  
Ying Chen ◽  
Meibing Liu ◽  
Haijun Deng ◽  
...  

Guizhou Province, China, experienced several severe drought events over the period from 1960 to 2013, causing great economic loss and intractable conflicts over water. In this study, the spatial and temporal characteristics of droughts are analyzed with the standard precipitation index (SPI), comprehensive meteorological drought index (CI), and reconnaissance drought index (RDI). Meanwhile, historical drought records are used to test the performance of each index at identifying droughts. All three indices show decreasing annual and autumn trends, with the latter particularly prominent. 29, 30, and 32 drought events were identified during 1960–2013 by the SPI, CI, and RDI, respectively. Continuous drought is more frequent in winter–spring and summer–autumn. There is a significant increasing trend in drought event frequency, peak, and strength since the start of the 21st century. Drought duration indicated by CI shows longer durations in the higher-elevation region of central and western Guizhou. The corresponding drought severity is high in these regions. SPI and RDI indicate longer drought durations in the lower elevation central and eastern regions of Guizhou Province, where the corresponding drought severity is also very strong. SPI shows an increasing trend in drought duration and drought severity across most of the regions of Guizhou. In general, SPI and RDI show an increasing trend in the western Guizhou Province and a decreasing trend in central and eastern Guizhou. Comparing these three drought indices with historical records, the RDI is found to be more objective and reliable than the SPI and CI when identifying the periods of drought in Guizhou.


2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 713-717
Author(s):  
C.S. Ekwezuo ◽  
J.C. Madu

Drought Indices are extensively adopted as a drought detection and monitoring tool in all climatic regions. This study assesses and compares the performance of four rainfall based drought indices, Deciles index (DI), Percent of Normal Index (PNI), Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and Z-score Index (ZSI) in detection and classification of drought events in Imo state , a humid environment of Nigeria from (1982 to 2016). The resultshows that droughts do occur in humid climatic region of Nigeria. The various indices differ in their detection and classification of drought events in the study area. However, they classified 2007 and 2008 as the year with the most severe drought event in the state. There is high correlation (r > 0.70) among the four indices, with ZSI and PNI showing the highest relationship to SPI (r= 0.97). The differences observed among the drought indices in detecting drought events in the study area can be reduced by using multiple drought indices in addition to the use of SPI in drought assessments especially in Nigeria since technological advancement in drought monitoring software’s has made it easier. Also it is worthwhile to research on why drought detection varies with indices. Keywords: Drought assessment, Rainfall-based drought indices, humid environment, Imo state, Nigeria.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 1835
Author(s):  
Yared Bayissa ◽  
Semu Moges ◽  
Assefa Melesse ◽  
Tsegaye Tadesse ◽  
Anteneh Z. Abiy ◽  
...  

Drought is one of the least understood and complex natural hazards often characterized by a significant decrease in water availability for a prolonged period. It can be manifested in one or more forms as meteorological, agricultural, hydrological, and/or socio-economic drought. The overarching objective of this study is to demonstrate and characterize the different forms of droughts and to assess the multidimensional nature of drought in the Abbay/ Upper Blue Nile River (UBN) basin and its national and regional scale implications. In this study, multiple drought indices derived from in situ and earth observation-based hydro-climatic variables were used. The meteorological drought was characterized using the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) computed from the earth observation-based gridded CHIRPS (Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Station) rainfall data. Agricultural and hydrological droughts were characterized by using the Soil Moisture Deficit Index (SMDI) and Standardized Runoff-discharge Index (SRI), respectively. The monthly time series of SMDI was derived from model-based gridded soil moisture and SRI from observed streamflow data from 1982 to 2019. The preliminary result illustrates the good performance of the drought indices in capturing the historic severe drought events (e.g., 1984 and 2002) and the spatial extents across the basin. The results further indicated that all forms of droughts (i.e., meteorological, agricultural, and hydrological) occurred concurrently in Abbay/Upper Blue Nile basin with a Pearson correlation coefficient ranges from 0.5 to 0.85 both Kiremt and annual aggregate periods. The concurrent nature of drought is leading to a multi-dimensional socio-economic crisis as indicated by rainfall, and soil moisture deficits, and drying of small streams. Multi-dimensional drought mitigation necessitates regional cooperation and watershed management to protect both the common water sources of the Abbay/Upper Blue Nile basin and the socio-economic activities of the society in the basin. This study also underlines the need for multi-scale drought monitoring and management practices in the basin.


Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 1238
Author(s):  
Muhammad Imran Khan ◽  
Xingye Zhu ◽  
Xiaoping Jiang ◽  
Qaisar Saddique ◽  
Muhammad Saifullah ◽  
...  

Drought is a natural phenomenon caused by the variability of climate. This study was conducted in the Songhua River Basin of China. The drought events were estimated by using the Reconnaissance Drought Index (RDI) and Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) which are based on precipitation (P) and potential evapotranspiration (PET) data. Furthermore, drought characteristics were identified for the assessment of drought trends in the study area. Short term (3 months) and long term (12 months) projected meteorological droughts were identified by using these drought indices. Future climate precipitation and temperature time series data (2021–2099) of various Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) were estimated by using outputs of the Global Circulation Model downscaled with a statistical methodology. The results showed that RCP 4.5 have a greater number of moderate drought events as compared to RCP 2.6 and RCP 8.5. Moreover, it was also noted that RCP 8.5 (40 events) and RCP 4.5 (38 events) showed a higher number of severe droughts on 12-month drought analysis in the study area. A severe drought conditions projected between 2073 and 2076 with drought severity (DS-1.66) and drought intensity (DI-0.42) while extreme drying trends were projected between 2097 and 2099 with drought severity (DS-1.85) and drought intensity (DI-0.62). It was also observed that Precipitation Decile predicted a greater number of years under deficit conditions under RCP 2.6. Overall results revealed that more severe droughts are expected to occur during the late phase (2050–2099) by using RDI and SPI. A comparative analysis of 3- and 12-month drying trends showed that RDI is prevailing during the 12-month drought analysis while almost both drought indices (RDI and SPI) indicated same behavior of drought identification at 3-month drought analysis between 2021 and 2099 in the research area. The results of study will help to evaluate the risk of future drought in the study area and be beneficial for the researcher to make an appropriate mitigation strategy.


2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (8) ◽  
pp. 2025-2044 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martha C. Anderson ◽  
Christopher Hain ◽  
Brian Wardlow ◽  
Agustin Pimstein ◽  
John R. Mecikalski ◽  
...  

Abstract The reliability of standard meteorological drought indices based on measurements of precipitation is limited by the spatial distribution and quality of currently available rainfall data. Furthermore, they reflect only one component of the surface hydrologic cycle, and they cannot readily capture nonprecipitation-based moisture inputs to the land surface system (e.g., irrigation) that may temper drought impacts or variable rates of water consumption across a landscape. This study assesses the value of a new drought index based on remote sensing of evapotranspiration (ET). The evaporative stress index (ESI) quantifies anomalies in the ratio of actual to potential ET (PET), mapped using thermal band imagery from geostationary satellites. The study investigates the behavior and response time scales of the ESI through a retrospective comparison with the standardized precipitation indices and Palmer drought index suite, and with drought classifications recorded in the U.S. Drought Monitor for the 2000–09 growing seasons. Spatial and temporal correlation analyses suggest that the ESI performs similarly to short-term (up to 6 months) precipitation-based indices but can be produced at higher spatial resolution and without requiring any precipitation data. Unique behavior is observed in the ESI in regions where the evaporative flux is enhanced by moisture sources decoupled from local rainfall: for example, in areas of intense irrigation or shallow water table. Normalization by PET serves to isolate the ET signal component responding to soil moisture variability from variations due to the radiation load. This study suggests that the ESI is a useful complement to the current suite of drought indicators, with particular added value in parts of the world where rainfall data are sparse or unreliable.


2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (9) ◽  
pp. 5041-5056 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Miguel Delgado ◽  
Sebastian Voss ◽  
Gerd Bürger ◽  
Klaus Vormoor ◽  
Aline Murawski ◽  
...  

Abstract. A set of seasonal drought forecast models was assessed and verified for the Jaguaribe River in semiarid northeastern Brazil. Meteorological seasonal forecasts were provided by the operational forecasting system used at FUNCEME (Ceará's research foundation for meteorology) and by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). Three downscaling approaches (empirical quantile mapping, extended downscaling and weather pattern classification) were tested and combined with the models in hindcast mode for the period 1981 to 2014. The forecast issue time was January and the forecast period was January to June. Hydrological drought indices were obtained by fitting a multivariate linear regression to observations. In short, it was possible to obtain forecasts for (a) monthly precipitation, (b) meteorological drought indices, and (c) hydrological drought indices. The skill of the forecasting systems was evaluated with regard to root mean square error (RMSE), the Brier skill score (BSS) and the relative operating characteristic skill score (ROCSS). The tested forecasting products showed similar performance in the analyzed metrics. Forecasts of monthly precipitation had little or no skill considering RMSE and mostly no skill with BSS. A similar picture was seen when forecasting meteorological drought indices: low skill regarding RMSE and BSS and significant skill when discriminating hit rate and false alarm rate given by the ROCSS (forecasting drought events of, e.g., SPEI1 showed a ROCSS of around 0.5). Regarding the temporal variation of the forecast skill of the meteorological indices, it was greatest for April, when compared to the remaining months of the rainy season, while the skill of reservoir volume forecasts decreased with lead time. This work showed that a multi-model ensemble can forecast drought events of timescales relevant to water managers in northeastern Brazil with skill. But no or little skill could be found in the forecasts of monthly precipitation or drought indices of lower scales, like SPI1. Both this work and those here revisited showed that major steps forward are needed in forecasting the rainy season in northeastern Brazil.


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