Precipitation and Drought Analysis in Serbia for the Period 1946–2017

Abstract

Precipitation is one of the most important meteorological variables which can impact on the occurrence of drought. Analysis of precipitation and drought data provides useful information for planning water resources, agricultural production and land use in the region. Monthly precipitation data from 28 synoptic stations in Serbia over the period 1946–2017 were used to analysed precipitation and drought in Serbia. For this purpose, the rainfall variability index was used. Two years (2000 and 2011) were specially analysed as the driest years when most of Serbia were affected by severe droughts. Spatial distribution of annual mean precipitation in Serbia is presented in this study. The north part of Serbia is the area with the least amount of precipitation. The south and the southeast part of Serbia have the moderate precipitation regime, while the west part is the wettest part. According to the applied analysis, it is evident that the stations in the western part of Serbia have the significant increasing trend in annual precipitation. The significant decreasing trend is not identified.