Drought Assessment of Siirt using SPI and SPEI

Abstract

Turkey is in the semi-arid semi-humid mid-latitude region. Therefore, drought, one of the destructive effects of climate change, is a fundamental problem for the country, part of which is in the semi-arid climate zone. To evaluate the drought of Siirt province in Turkey, a total of 792 time series were evaluated. In this study, meteorological drought analysis was carried out in Siirt province, located in the Southeastern Anatolia region, monthly and annual periods using the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) method and SPEI. Meteorological data (temperature, evaporation, and precipitation) from Siirt province between 1957-2022 were used. The results showed that the monthly and annual values of SPI and SPEI showed almost similar results at the selected stations for annual time scales. Although there were periods of severe drought, normal drought levels were observed in the overall average. The wet and dry periods were identified, and the results were presented graphically. As a result, the trend results in the region will contribute to the water resources planning management.