Abstract
This study evaluates droughts in the Mekong River Basin (MKB) based on a multidisciplinary method, mainly using the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and Mann–Kendall (MK) test. Precipitation data corresponding to the seasonality of the regional climate were retrieved from Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for Global Precipitation Measurement from 2001 to 2020, at a monthly temporal scale and 0.1 degree spatial resolution. Drought events and their average interval, duration, and severity were determined based on Run theory. Our results revealed the most extreme drought period was in January 2014, at the time the lowest precipitation occurred. Spatial extreme drought results indicated that Zone 2 in the upstream MKB has the highest frequency of drought, with 44 events observed during 19 years, and experiences the most severe droughts, whereas Zone 24 in the downstream MKB has the most prolonged drought duration of seven months. The periods and locations of extreme drought were identified using the SPI, corresponding to historic droughts of the MKB. Furthermore, the MK test shows an increasing trend of droughts in the lower MKB and the cluster analysis identified six clusters of times series. Overall, our study provides essential findings for international and national water resource stakeholders in identifying trends of extreme drought in the MKB.
Highlights
Based on the precipitation data retrieved from IMERG, we determined spatial distribution for precipitation in the Mekong River Basin (MKB) from 2001 to 2020 (Figure 4)
A multidisciplinary analysis based on satellite data is used to detect droughts and their trends in the Mekong River Basin (MKB) regarding how their historical dynamics could be explained for seeking potential adaptation and mitigation measures in the coming years
We have shown the trajectory of drought dynamics, the highest and lowest frequent droughts, and the locations and durations of droughts across the MKB
Summary
Drought is among those natural disasters that have caused severe damage to humanity, society, economy, and environment [1,2,3,4,5,6]. Drought has affected the socio-economy by reducing crop productivity, cultivated area, and crop yield. Drought has increased agricultural production costs and decreased the income of agricultural labor. The prices of food could be highly influenced by droughts. Severe drought can have complex effects, ranging beyond the direct impacts on crops and livestock to an array of indirect impacts associated with sanitation, nutrition, loss of livelihood, displaced populations, and international disputes [5]
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