Assessment of the Drought Risk in Constanta County, Romania

Drought poses a significant risk in many parts of the world, especially in regions reliant on agriculture. Evaluating this risk is an essential step in preventing and reducing its impact. In this context, we assess the drought intensity at six sites in Constanța County (Romania) using the de Martonn...

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Main Authors: Carmen Elena Maftei, Alina Bărbulescu, Amela Osman
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-10-01
Series:Atmosphere
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/15/11/1281
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author Carmen Elena Maftei
Alina Bărbulescu
Amela Osman
author_facet Carmen Elena Maftei
Alina Bărbulescu
Amela Osman
author_sort Carmen Elena Maftei
collection DOAJ
description Drought poses a significant risk in many parts of the world, especially in regions reliant on agriculture. Evaluating this risk is an essential step in preventing and reducing its impact. In this context, we assess the drought intensity at six sites in Constanța County (Romania) using the de Martonne aridity index. The risk of aridity and vulnerability to drought were evaluated by the Drought Hazard Index (<i>DHI</i>) and Drought Risk Index (<i>DRI</i>), computed based on the Standardized Precipitation Index (<i>SPI</i>). The de Martonne index indicates a variation between the slightly arid and semi-arid climates for Adamclisi station, with periodic changes from semi-arid to arid. At Cernavodă station, we notice a passage from an arid period towards a moderately humid one (in 2005), followed by a movement in the opposite direction to the limit of the arid zone (in 2011), and a return inside the “limits” of the semi-arid to moderately arid climate. A similar variation for 2000–2018 is noticed at Medgidia, Hârșova, and Mangalia. <i>DRI</i> classifies two stations in the low risk to drought category and one in the moderate risk to drought class. The other two locations experience a high or very high risk of drought. The drought intensities varied in the intervals 0.503–1.109 at Constanța, 0.473–1.363 at Mangalia, 0.511–1.493 at Adamclisi, 0.438–1.602 at Hârșova, 0.307–1.687 at Medgidia, and 0.463–1.307 at Cernavodă, and the prolonged drought periods were over 99 months at all stations.
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spelling doaj-art-3e1416d055de474dbf9856dc6bbff1f32025-08-20T02:26:54ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332024-10-011511128110.3390/atmos15111281Assessment of the Drought Risk in Constanta County, RomaniaCarmen Elena Maftei0Alina Bărbulescu1Amela Osman2Faculty of Civil Engineering, Transilvania University of Brașov, 5 Turnului Str., 500152 Brașov, RomaniaFaculty of Civil Engineering, Transilvania University of Brașov, 5 Turnului Str., 500152 Brașov, RomaniaRAJA S.A., 900590 Constanța, RomaniaDrought poses a significant risk in many parts of the world, especially in regions reliant on agriculture. Evaluating this risk is an essential step in preventing and reducing its impact. In this context, we assess the drought intensity at six sites in Constanța County (Romania) using the de Martonne aridity index. The risk of aridity and vulnerability to drought were evaluated by the Drought Hazard Index (<i>DHI</i>) and Drought Risk Index (<i>DRI</i>), computed based on the Standardized Precipitation Index (<i>SPI</i>). The de Martonne index indicates a variation between the slightly arid and semi-arid climates for Adamclisi station, with periodic changes from semi-arid to arid. At Cernavodă station, we notice a passage from an arid period towards a moderately humid one (in 2005), followed by a movement in the opposite direction to the limit of the arid zone (in 2011), and a return inside the “limits” of the semi-arid to moderately arid climate. A similar variation for 2000–2018 is noticed at Medgidia, Hârșova, and Mangalia. <i>DRI</i> classifies two stations in the low risk to drought category and one in the moderate risk to drought class. The other two locations experience a high or very high risk of drought. The drought intensities varied in the intervals 0.503–1.109 at Constanța, 0.473–1.363 at Mangalia, 0.511–1.493 at Adamclisi, 0.438–1.602 at Hârșova, 0.307–1.687 at Medgidia, and 0.463–1.307 at Cernavodă, and the prolonged drought periods were over 99 months at all stations.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/15/11/1281hazardvulnerability<i>SPI</i><i>DVI</i><i>DHI</i><i>DRI</i>
spellingShingle Carmen Elena Maftei
Alina Bărbulescu
Amela Osman
Assessment of the Drought Risk in Constanta County, Romania
Atmosphere
hazard
vulnerability
<i>SPI</i>
<i>DVI</i>
<i>DHI</i>
<i>DRI</i>
title Assessment of the Drought Risk in Constanta County, Romania
title_full Assessment of the Drought Risk in Constanta County, Romania
title_fullStr Assessment of the Drought Risk in Constanta County, Romania
title_full_unstemmed Assessment of the Drought Risk in Constanta County, Romania
title_short Assessment of the Drought Risk in Constanta County, Romania
title_sort assessment of the drought risk in constanta county romania
topic hazard
vulnerability
<i>SPI</i>
<i>DVI</i>
<i>DHI</i>
<i>DRI</i>
url https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/15/11/1281
work_keys_str_mv AT carmenelenamaftei assessmentofthedroughtriskinconstantacountyromania
AT alinabarbulescu assessmentofthedroughtriskinconstantacountyromania
AT amelaosman assessmentofthedroughtriskinconstantacountyromania