Forecasting the Future Drought Indices Due to the Effects of Climate Change in Al Najaf City, Iraq.

Abstract

Drought is a natural disaster associated with a shortage of water availability for specified region within a specific time period. The impacts of drought are significant and extend to damage many important life aspects such as environmental, economic, and social activities. The forecasting of the drought events is an essential element for planning this disaster, reducing its effectiveness and response. The three characteristic frequency, intensity, and time period are the key parts for forecasting and assessment of droughts. Here, two drought indices (The Reconnaissance Drought Index (RDI), standardized precipitation index (SPI)) were used for forecasting of the future drought within Al Najaf city, Iraq. Thirty years meteorological data (average monthly precipitation and temperature) were used for the period (2021–2050) downloaded from the site of the Centre for Environmental Data Analysis (CEDA) for five grid points to cover overall study area. The computation of these indices conducted at a 12-month time scale and included the calculation of potential evapotranspiration by Thorthwaite method. The temporal drought intensity as well as drought frequency configurations were calculated and analyzed for each drought index. The results showed that the general average drought level expected will mildly dry while the maximum drought level expected will extremely dry. The more severe seasons of drought were forecasted in the years 2038, 2034 and 2021, respectively. Also, the prevailing event will be a one year drought and the maximum drought interval occurred within the study period will four consecutive years, with a 3.33% exceedance probability.