Seasonal drought dynamics in El-Beheira governorate, Egypt

Abstract

Drought is the most damaging climate-related hazards due to the prolonged absence of precipitation. Therefore, understanding the drought dynamics is important for irrigation water management to mitigate the negative impacts on agriculture. In this study, Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) were used as effective tools for tracking the changes of water status occurred at five agro-meteorological stations (Etay Al Baroud, Wadi El-Natrun, Al Boseli, Badr and Nubariyah) within El-Beheira governorate, Egypt. In addition, the overall water risk for agro-meteorological stations was estimated using the Aqueduct-GIS tool. The results clarified that Badr agro-meteorological station is representing the highest of water deficit by 96.6%, whereas, Al Boseli agro-meteorological station is representing the lowest water deficit by 86.9%. However, The SPI over El-Beheira region often confined in the near normal class, while the SPEI showed a notable increase of drought (SPEI = 0 to -4) in last 10 years of the analyses. The results suggested that El-Beheira governorate is moving toward the drought in general and Wadi El-Natrun and Nubariyah are the most drought affected areas in the future. © 2014 Science Publication.