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Assessment of meteorological drought using SPI in West Azarbaijan Province, Iran
Nosrati, Kazem & Zareiee, Abdol Rassoul
Abstract
Assessment of drought is one of the most important steps in risk management of drought
analysis. Drought is mostly the result of a decrease in precipitation in comparison with the mean value and would
affect the quantities of soil moisture and water resources. The basis of drought indices is often based on measuring
the deviation of precipitation values from long-term mean, during a specific period of time. The standard
precipitation index (SPI) can be used for indicating the associated temporal and spatial variations. The aim of this
research is the assessment of the characteristics such as intensity, frequency and duration of meteorological
drought using SPI with 1, 3, 6, 12 and 24 months time scales in West Azarbaijan Province, Iran. The indices have
been computed in various time scales for 38 gauging stations with 32 years record period in the study area and
evaluated for the recent drought during 1998-2001. The results indicate that with an increase in return period and
time scale, the duration of drought will be increased. Frequency of drought, with an increase in scale, will also be
decreased linearly, but their durations show an increase. This index having temporal and spatial variations and is
attributed as a suitable tool for analyzing drought for different hydrological purposes
Keywords
Meteorological Drought, Standardized Precipitation Index, Drought Management, West Azarbaijan Province
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