Drought risk and water resources assessment in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, China

Abstract

Drought is a natural disaster that can influence all aspects of human life owing to its extensive and long-term implications. Global warming and rapid economic development have led to an increase in the drought risk. Meanwhile, rural communities are more drought-susceptible due to their greater closeness to nature and agriculture-based economies. Therefore, the scientific drought risk assessment and water resource utilization are of great significance. Drought risk refers to the potential losses from hazards imposed by drought events, which are a result of combined hazard, vulnerability, and exposure. This study focuses on drought risks in rural areas to provide references for risk assessment, disaster prevention, and water resource allocation. We chose the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region (where is water-scarce and suffers severe drought disasters) as the study area. We used the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) to define the drought events and to extract the drought duration (D) and drought severity (S) according to the run theory. We also established three vulnerability curves based on the loss data, and assessed the risk of the primary industry, rural population, and cultivated areas, then superimposed it on the spatial distribution of water resources. The results indicated that Beijing has a high level of urbanization with a relatively low drought risk, and there are some high-risk areas in Tianjin and southeastern Hebei. Domestic water consumption is stable, and agricultural consumption has decreased. With the rapid increase in green areas in recent years, ecological water consumption has also increased. It has less water and a high-risk level of drought in southern areas. It is crucial to construct emergency water source projects for drought relief and make efficient use of limited water resources available.