Observed and blended gauge-satellite precipitation estimates perspective on meteorological drought intensity over South Sulawesi, Indonesia

Abstract

South Sulawesi province as one of the rice production center for national food security are highly influenced by climate phenomenon that lead to drought condition. This paper quantifies meteorological drought based on Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) recommended by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and Consecutive Dry Days (CDD) as one of the extreme indices recommended by the Expert Team on Climate Change Detection and Indices (ETCCDI). The indices were calculated by using (i) quality controlled daily and monthly observational precipitation data from 23 weather stations of various record lengths within 1967-2015 periods, and (ii) 0.05o x 0.05o blended gauge-satellite of daily and monthly precipitation estimates of the Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Stations (CHIRPS) dataset. Meteorological drought intensity represented by Average Duration of Drought Intensity (ADI) from three-monthly SPI (SPI3) show spatial differences characteristic between eastern and western region. Observed and CHIRPS have relatively similar perspective on meteorological drought intensity over South Sulawesi. Relatively high values of ADI and longest CDD observed mainly over south western part of study area.