Study of Drought Variation Based on SPI determined for Various Time Scales over the Belagavi District, Karnataka, India

DOI

No DOI

Published In

Volume 3, Issue 5 (2022)

Published Online

September-October 2022

Pages

33-37

Article Type

Research Article

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Abstract: The Standard Precipitation Index (SPI) is more commonly used drought index which uses precipitation as input. Precipitation index is determined for many time scale based on the objective of assessment. The relevant time scale is one or two months for some processes, like dry land agriculture, where atmospheric behavior is easily influenced. The standardization of the SPI enables it to assess the rarity of the current drought. The SPI was developed to show how dry and wet conditions can coexist on various time scales. As a result, the SPI value for each time scale is determined differently. The SPI has been assessed in this work using precipitation data of twenty one years (2000 to 2020) for the Belagavi district, Karnataka State to describe the characteristics of the drought experienced by it. The present work is an attempt to understand the drought conditions under various time scales such as one, three, six, nine, and twelve months by computing drought indices. The severity of drought is defined based on its indices determined for various time scales. The present study demonstrates the use of determining SPI1, SPI3, SPI6, SPI9, and SPI12 by plotting on district map using Arc GIS software. Study will help the administrators and bureaucrats to take appropriate measures to protect such areas of drought from suffering.