Drought Occurrence Pattern in Tigray Region, Northern Ethiopia

Drought is characterized using parameters including duration, severity, intensity and spatial coverage. Drought frequency and trend can also be used as additional parameters to further characterize drought occurrences. In this study, drought occurrence was examined using Standard Precipitation and...

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Main Authors: A.S. Tefera, J.O. Ayoade, N.J. Bello
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Joint Coordination Centre of the World Bank assisted National Agricultural Research Programme (NARP) 2019-08-01
Series:Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental Management
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.Ajol.Info/index.php/jasem/article/view/188788
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author A.S. Tefera
J.O. Ayoade
N.J. Bello
author_facet A.S. Tefera
J.O. Ayoade
N.J. Bello
author_sort A.S. Tefera
collection DOAJ
description Drought is characterized using parameters including duration, severity, intensity and spatial coverage. Drought frequency and trend can also be used as additional parameters to further characterize drought occurrences. In this study, drought occurrence was examined using Standard Precipitation and Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) as an assessment tool. Based on the SPEI results, spatial and temporal patterns were inspected both at district and regional levels. In doing so, monthly climate data collected on selected stations, from the Dutch national weather service known as the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), was used to assess the drought trends and characterize the study area in terms of drought duration, severity, intensity, frequency, spatial extent as well as drought trend. The analysis results indicated that most districts in the southern and eastern zones experienced more intense droughts than the rest of the study area. It was also found that the average drought return period in the study area ranged between 2.02 at 3-month, 6-month and 24-month time scales to 2.13 years at 12-month time scale. A statistically significant increasing drought trend was also revealed at all-time scales. Generally, the study has revealed an increasing trend of drought occurrence and spatially variable drought duration, severity, intensity and frequency in the study area. The short return period and increasing drought trends indicate the need for urgent drought management intervention. Keywords: Drought characterization, Drought Intensity, Trend, Spatial Distribution,
format Article
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institution Kabale University
issn 2659-1502
2659-1499
language English
publishDate 2019-08-01
publisher Joint Coordination Centre of the World Bank assisted National Agricultural Research Programme (NARP)
record_format Article
series Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental Management
spelling doaj-art-0afc681f29f4488cb67cf70dab1b6f8d2025-02-08T19:51:30ZengJoint Coordination Centre of the World Bank assisted National Agricultural Research Programme (NARP)Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental Management2659-15022659-14992019-08-01237Drought Occurrence Pattern in Tigray Region, Northern EthiopiaA.S. TeferaJ.O. AyoadeN.J. Bello Drought is characterized using parameters including duration, severity, intensity and spatial coverage. Drought frequency and trend can also be used as additional parameters to further characterize drought occurrences. In this study, drought occurrence was examined using Standard Precipitation and Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) as an assessment tool. Based on the SPEI results, spatial and temporal patterns were inspected both at district and regional levels. In doing so, monthly climate data collected on selected stations, from the Dutch national weather service known as the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), was used to assess the drought trends and characterize the study area in terms of drought duration, severity, intensity, frequency, spatial extent as well as drought trend. The analysis results indicated that most districts in the southern and eastern zones experienced more intense droughts than the rest of the study area. It was also found that the average drought return period in the study area ranged between 2.02 at 3-month, 6-month and 24-month time scales to 2.13 years at 12-month time scale. A statistically significant increasing drought trend was also revealed at all-time scales. Generally, the study has revealed an increasing trend of drought occurrence and spatially variable drought duration, severity, intensity and frequency in the study area. The short return period and increasing drought trends indicate the need for urgent drought management intervention. Keywords: Drought characterization, Drought Intensity, Trend, Spatial Distribution, https://www.Ajol.Info/index.php/jasem/article/view/188788Drought characterizationDrought IntensityTrendSpatial Distribution
spellingShingle A.S. Tefera
J.O. Ayoade
N.J. Bello
Drought Occurrence Pattern in Tigray Region, Northern Ethiopia
Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental Management
Drought characterization
Drought Intensity
Trend
Spatial Distribution
title Drought Occurrence Pattern in Tigray Region, Northern Ethiopia
title_full Drought Occurrence Pattern in Tigray Region, Northern Ethiopia
title_fullStr Drought Occurrence Pattern in Tigray Region, Northern Ethiopia
title_full_unstemmed Drought Occurrence Pattern in Tigray Region, Northern Ethiopia
title_short Drought Occurrence Pattern in Tigray Region, Northern Ethiopia
title_sort drought occurrence pattern in tigray region northern ethiopia
topic Drought characterization
Drought Intensity
Trend
Spatial Distribution
url https://www.Ajol.Info/index.php/jasem/article/view/188788
work_keys_str_mv AT astefera droughtoccurrencepatternintigrayregionnorthernethiopia
AT joayoade droughtoccurrencepatternintigrayregionnorthernethiopia
AT njbello droughtoccurrencepatternintigrayregionnorthernethiopia