Abstract
Regional evaluation of drought characteristics provides critical information for water resource management. In this case, this study attempts to analyze the probability behaviors of drought events of a given severity in the Pearl River Basin and to construct severity-area-frequency curves of drought events. Due to possible impacts of complicated topographical properties and diverse climate types within the Pearl River Basin, the entire Pearl River Basin is subdivided into different homogeneous regions. In general, the Pearl River Basin can be categorized into four homogeneous regions, and the severity-area-frequency analysis results for the short-, medium- and long-term drought episodes within each homogeneous regions indicate stressful challenge for the water resource management in the Pearl River Basin due to the fact that severe droughts usually occur over the entire Pearl River Basin. Meanwhile, the Pearl River Delta will face a higher risk of drought when compared to other regions of the Pearl River Basin in terms of the medium-term drought. The Pearl River Basin is highly economically development and is heavily populated, thus impacts of droughts and related resilience resolutions or policies should be taken into account in the formulation of regional sustainable development of water resources and socio-economy within the Pearl River Basin, China.
Highlights
Droughts are long-term phenomena affecting large regions inflicting significant damages both on human lives and on socio-economy
This study focuses on the meteorological drought which is defined as deficit of precipitation over a region within a certain time interval
The standardized precipitation index (SPI) was considered as a drought variable, and as the droughts corresponding to the short, medium- and long-term periods are of great importance for different water resource management
Summary
Droughts are long-term phenomena affecting large regions inflicting significant damages both on human lives and on socio-economy. Drought event is generally considered as periods being characterized with insufficient precipitation, soil moisture and water resources for supporting the socio-economic activities of a region. Based on the nature of the water deficit, four types of droughts are defined: a) the meteorological drought; b) the hydrological drought; c) the agricultural drought; and d) the socio-economic drought. This study focuses on the meteorological drought which is defined as deficit of precipitation over a region within a certain time interval. As droughts are regional in nature and commonly cover large areas and extend for long time periods, it is important to study such events within a regional backdrop. A method to estimate severityarea-frequency (SAF) curves has been used in this study to estimate the return periods of annual regional droughts
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
