Drought monitoring over India using multi-scalar standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index

摘要

Drought has negative impact on agriculture, ecosystem and livelihood. Several indices are developed to monitor and measure the intensity of drought. Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) is a new drought index that considers the rainfall and evapotranspiration to monitor drought. The data for last 34 years (1980-2014) were utilized in the study to study the drought in India. The gridded precipitation and temperature data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) were considered for the generation of SPEI for mapping of drought The SPEI were calculated for normal (2013) and (1985, 1987, 2002, 2004, 2009 and 2014) drought year. The SPEI were classified into nine classes for extremely wet to extremely dry conditions. It is evident that SPEI is in acceptance with Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and can identify drought affected areas. The correlation coefficient (r) between SPI and SPEI ranged from 0.63-0.79 for the study years. The spatial comparison between SPEI and Vegetation Health Index (VHI) describes the ability of SPEI for drought monitoring. The finding shows that SPEI can be used as an advanced index for drought monitoring and assessment in India.