Monitoring of meteorological and hydrological droughts in the Vistula basin (Poland)

Katarzyna Kubiak-Wójcicka,Bogdan Bąk

doi:10.1007/s10661-018-7058-8

Abstract

The article presents the course of meteorological droughts in Vistula subcatchments in years 1981–2010 and their influence on the occurrence of hydrological droughts. Using the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) as an indicator of meteorological drought on the one hand and the Standardized Water-level Index (SWI) and Standardized Runoff Index (SRI) as indicators of hydrological drought on the other, the mutual relationships between precipitation conditions and hydrological conditions were evaluated, as well as the relationships between the two drought types. Studies were conducted for three cumulative periods of these indices, of 12, 24, and 48 months. It was determined that meteorological droughts occurred earliest in the north-western and central part of the basin, and latest in areas lying above 300 m a.s.l. and in the south of Poland. Total duration, depending on the cumulative period, for SPI comprised from 38 to 41% of the analyzed period and for SWI (35–47%) and SRI (24–51%). The strongest relationships were identified in the central part of the Vistula (0.8 < r < 0.85), while the weakest relationships were recorded in the foothill region (r < 0.5). There were also indicated non-climate-related factors influencing those relationships (underground reservoirs, diverse Vistula water resource usage for municipal and industrial intake).

Highlights

Drought is one of the most destructive natural phenomena, causing significant economic and social damage (Dobrovolski 2015)
For Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI)-48, the shortest total drought duration occurred in the belt of lowlands running from the northwestern extent of the basin to the center of the country and in the northern part of the Vistula basin, with a minimum of 31%
The results of the current paper showed variable precipitation in the Vistula basin, typical of the distribution of precipitation in neighboring regions

Summary

Introduction

Drought is one of the most destructive natural phenomena, causing significant economic and social damage (Dobrovolski 2015). Contrary to other threats related to climate changes, such as floods, which are usually limited to small regions and often appear at relatively predictable time intervals, droughts are difficult to prognose and their duration and extent are hard to predict (VicenteSerrano and López-Moreno 2005; Tsakiris et al 2006; Mishra and Singh 2010). The assessment of drought as well as other climatic parameters is very important to determine ideal places for the thermal comfort of humans (Cetin 2015; Cetin et al 2018a). Recent studies of drought stress, using remote sensing, show monitoring of drought stress and its impact on the assessment of the recreational potential of regions (Cetin et al 2018b, c). Since the 1970s, there has been an increase in the frequency of meteorological droughts in many parts of Europe, in Poland, which is attributed

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