Abstract
Natural disasters are a major concern in Bangladesh, particularly drought which is one of the most common disaster in Bangladesh. Drought needs to be explained spatially to understand its spatiotemporal variations in different areas. In this paper, the meteorological drought has been shown by using the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) method and illustrated through the Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW) method across Bangladesh. We used rainfall data of 30 meteorological stations in Bangladesh during the study period of 1981–2010. The results indicate that drought has been fluctuating and it has become a recurrent phenomenon during the study period. The SPI depicted the drought conditions that plunged dramatically in 1981, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1992, 1994, and 1996 and then gradually improved in 2004, 2006, and 2009 in the country. The present study demonstrated that drought occurred in Bangladesh on an average of 2.5 years. Drought was more prominent in the northern, south-western, and eastern regions in Bangladesh compared to the rest of the areas of the country. The outcomes of the present study will help in during disaster management strategies, particularly drought, by initiating effective plans and adaptation remedies in different areas of Bangladesh.
Highlights
IntroductionDrought is one of the key natural disaster in Bangladesh [2]
Many countries have become vulnerable to drought due to climate change and other natural conditions [1].Drought is one of the key natural disaster in Bangladesh [2].It has become a major concern in the country, in terms of Bangladesh agricultural production and environmental damage
The results of the present study demonstrated that drought is recurrent; and the vulnerability of drought varies spatially and temporarily
Summary
Drought is one of the key natural disaster in Bangladesh [2]. It has become a major concern in the country, in terms of Bangladesh agricultural production and environmental damage. It adversely impacts agricultural production and natural environment [3], mostly areas in the northwestern part [4, 5]. Mapping drought is necessary to understand the regional severity of drought to manage it effectively and to reduce the agricultural production losses and protect the environment. Meteorological drought was assessed through annual rainfall [7].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
