Spatio-temporal analysis of droughts in semi-arid regions by using meteorological drought indices

Abstract

Six meteorological drought indices including percent of normal (PN), standardized precipitation index (SPI), China-Z index (CZI), modified CZI (MCZI), Z-Score (Z), the aridity index of E. de Martonne (I) are compared and evaluated for assessing spatio-temporal dynamics of droughts in six climatic regions in Iran. Results indicated that by consideration of the advantages and disadvantages of the mentioned drought predictors in Iran, the Z-Score, CZI and MCZI could be used as a good meteorological drought predictor. Depending on the month, the length of drought andclimatic conditions of the region, they are an alternative to the SPI that has limitations both because of only a few available long term data series in Iran and its complex structure. © 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.