Space and time variability of meteorological drought in Syria
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RESEARCH ARTICLE - ATMOSPHERIC & SPACE SCIENCES
Space and time variability of meteorological drought in Syria Safwan Mohammed1 · Karam Alsafadi2 · Talal Al‑Awadhi3 · Youssef Sherief3,4 · Endre Harsanyie1,5 · Ahmed M. El Kenawy3,6 Received: 3 June 2020 / Accepted: 8 October 2020 © Institute of Geophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences & Polish Academy of Sciences 2020
Abstract This study assesses the spatial and temporal characteristics (e.g., frequency, intensity, spatial extent) of meteorological drought in Syria. Specifically, drought was characterized using the observed rainfall data from 36 rain gauges spanning the period between 1990 and 2010 and covering the main climatic regions in Syria (i.e., Mediterranean, arid, semiarid and mountainous). Meteorological drought was assessed using the standardized precipitation index (SPI) at 12-month timescale, allowing for detecting the impacts of climate variability on agricultural droughts. The dominant modes of drought were defined using an S-mode of the principal component analysis. To assess the links between meteorological drought evolution and vegetation greening in Syria, the time series of SPI were correlated with the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). Time series of NDVI were retrieved from the remotely sensed National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Advanced Very High-Resolution Radiometer (NOAA/AVHRR) sensor at a spatial resolution of 25 km for the common period 1990–2010. Trend analysis suggests a statistically significant increase in the frequency and intensity of drought at 12-month timescale. The observed intensification of meteorological drought is mostly associated with the increase in mild and moderate droughts, relative to extremes and very extreme droughts. Results also suggest a statistically significant decrease (p 40 °C) and cold winters (
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