Spatio-temporal Characteristics of Droughts and Drought Trends in Qazvin Province of Iran

Hamid Asgari ,Peiman Roushenas,Shamsuddin Shahid,Sahar Hadipour,Morteza Mohsenipour,Mostafa Shafieifar

doi:10.19026/rjaset.8.1100

Abstract

A study has been carried out to characterize the spatial patterns of droughts with different time scales as well as their trends in Qazvin province of Iran where droughts are recurrent phenomena. Thirty-five years (1971- 2004) monthly rainfall data recorded at twenty rainfall stations are used for the study. Standardized precipitation index is used for the reconstruction of drought events from rainfall data in order to characterize the spatial and temporal distributions of droughts. A non-parametric trend test known as Mann-Kendall test is used to analysis the changes in rainfall and drought events. The results show that the north especially northwest part of the provinces most prone to droughts with different time spans and severities. Trend analysis shows significant changes in rainfall and droughts only in few stations sporadically distributed over the study area. It is expected that the study will be helpful in drought mitigation and adaptation planning in the area.

Highlights

Droughts are very common in almost all countries around the world, especially those located in the arid and semiarid regions (Badripour, 2007; Shahid and Hazarika, 2010; Wang et al, 2012a)
The occurrence of droughts in the study area is identified from standardized precipitation index (SPI) time series’ of multiple-time scales
Analysis of sixmonth SPI time series’ at different stations located in and around Qazvin province reveals that severity of sixmonth time scale droughts varies from station to (a)

Summary

Introduction

Droughts are very common in almost all countries around the world, especially those located in the arid and semiarid regions (Badripour, 2007; Shahid and Hazarika, 2010; Wang et al, 2012a). Drought is considered as the costliest natural disaster in the globe (Vasiliades et al, 2011). In contrast to other natural hazards (including floods) that are typically restricted to an area and occur over well-defined temporal intervals, drought is difficult to pinpoint in to time and space because it affects wide areas for a longer period (Vicente-Serrano et al, 2012). Droughts are often recurring with certain spatial and temporal characteristics that vary significantly from one region to another (Tallaksen and van Lanen, 2004). Characterization of spatial pattern of drought sat regional and local scales is one of the major steps for mitigation planning

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