Spatio-temporal drought assessment and comparison of drought indices under climatic variations in drought-prone areas of Pakistan

Climatic variations cause droughts which badly affect the environment. The study focused on monitoring droughts to aid decision-making and mitigate their negative impacts on water availability for agriculture and livelihoods in the face of increasing water demand and climate change. To assess the ag...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of water and climate change 2023-10, Vol.14 (10), p.3726-3752
Main Authors: Ahmad, Muhammad Bilal, Muavia, Ali, Iqbal, Mudassar, Arshed, Abu Bakar, Ahmad, Muhammad Mansoor
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
aspi
balochistan
climatic variations
drought assessment
indices comparison
spei
spi
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Climatic variations cause droughts which badly affect the environment. The study focused on monitoring droughts to aid decision-making and mitigate their negative impacts on water availability for agriculture and livelihoods in the face of increasing water demand and climate change. To assess the agricultural droughts, a new agricultural Standardized Precipitation Index (aSPI) was calculated which is not used earlier in Balochistan. Widely recommended Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) were used for meteorological drought assessment. Drought indices comparison was also conducted to check the applicability. Rainfall, maximum temperature, and minimum temperature data (1992 to 2021) were utilized to calculate SPI, aSPI, and SPEI at different timescales (3, 6, 9, and 12 months) using DrinC software and SPEI calculator. Indices results revealed the following severe to extreme drought years: 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2011, 2014, 2016, and 2017. It was determined that Dalbandin, Quetta, Sibi, Kalat, Khuzdar, and Zhob experienced higher extreme drought frequencies. Both long- and short-term drought durations were observed. Indices comparison showed that SPI is the most efficient drought index compared to aSPI and SPEI. This study offers valuable insights for managing water resources in the face of climate-induced droughts.
ISSN:2040-2244
2408-9354
DOI:10.2166/wcc.2023.602