Search Results (4)

The aim of this study was to examine variations in the hydrological regime of the Krapina River from 1964 to 2023. The river basin spans 1263 km² and is characterized by a temperate, humid continental climate with warm summers. Hydrological data from the Kupljenovo gauging station, which monitors 91.1% of the basin (1150 km²), indicate an average annual discharge of 11.2 m³/s, ranging from 3.25 m³/s to 18.3 m³/s. Over the 60-year study period, the minimum mean daily discharges show a statistically insignificant increasing trend, while the mean annual and maximum annual mean daily discharges exhibit statistically insignificant declines. Annual precipitation averages 1037 mm, varying between 606 mm and 1459 mm, with a non-significant decreasing trend. In contrast, the mean annual air temperatures demonstrate a statistically significant increasing trend, with a pronounced intensification beginning in 1986. The annual runoff coefficients series exhibits a statistically insignificant downward trend, with an average value of 0.293 (range: 0.145–0.399). Application of the New Drought Index (NDI) revealed a marked increase in the frequency of strong and extreme droughts since 2000. Full article

In this study, we propose an enhanced methodology for assessing drought conditions through the systematic categorization of Condition Monitoring Observer Reports (CMORs) from Missouri between 2018 and 2024. Our approach introduces a novel classification framework to categorize drought impacts—meteorological, agricultural, hydrological, and socioeconomic—and aligns the analysis with established United States Drought Monitor (USDM) severity classifications. To complement this framework, we incorporate the New Drought Index (NDI), a recently developed quantitative metric that integrates atmospheric anomalies. Brief consideration is also given to atmospheric blocking patterns, which influence drought development. Advanced text processing techniques are employed to bridge qualitative and quantitative insights. The findings underscore the importance of integrating observer insights, atmospheric processes, and advanced indices to refine drought monitoring, inform climate adaptation strategies, and support proactive resource management. Full article

The article analyzes the development of air temperatures and precipitation on two remote islands in the Adriatic Sea from 1961 to 2023, examining annual and monthly time scales. Lastovo Island is located in the southern Adriatic, and Lošinj Island is situated 277 km north, and both exhibit a sharp rise in air temperatures since 1998, though precipitation series show no significant trends of an increase or decrease. Using the New Drought Index (NDI) method, this study calculated drought intensities for the period 1961–2023. The analyses conducted in this study undoubtedly indicate a rising frequency and intensity of droughts, with severe droughts doubling and extreme droughts increasing fourfold in the recent period (1998–2023) compared to the previous one (1961–1997). The most pronounced increase in severe and extreme droughts occurs specifically from June to August. This trend is likely applicable to many small Mediterranean Islands, which number over 10,000 and have a permanent population of more than 1.6 million people, with numbers significantly rising during the tourist season. The increased water demand for agriculture and daily use, combined with increased drought risk, not only exacerbates the potential for forest fires but also threatens social structures and ecological conditions. This is particularly critical as the combination of drier conditions and increased fire risk poses a significant challenge, endangering natural landscapes and valuable historical sites that are integral to the islands’ identity and heritage. This study’s findings indicate a dangerous trend likely to persist and worsen with continued increases in air temperatures in the Mediterranean region. Full article

Kabul River Basin is one of the most significant river basins in Afghanistan from a socio-economic perspective. Since the country is located in an arid climate zone with drastically varying climatic behavior, an effective assessment of meteorological drought is very essential to managing the limited availability of water resources. For this endeavor, the outputs of three general circulation models under two representative concentration pathways (RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5) were used against the baseline period of 1961–1980. Different bias correction methods were applied, and the results show that the delta change method, quantile mapping method, and empirical quantile mapping all performed better for the precipitation, maximum temperature, and minimum temperature datasets, respectively. The ERA5-Land datasets and WorldClim Version 2 are used to validate the bias-corrected precipitation and temperature datasets, respectively, to determine their dependability, and the results were found to be promising. Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), Reconnaissance Drought Index (RDI), Deciles Index (DI), and New Drought Index (NDI) were used to assess the drought condition in the past and forecast for the future periods of the 2020s, 2050s, and 2080s. The spatial distribution of assessed drought indices was mapped using the inverse distance weighting (IDW) method. Our results revealed that moderate to extreme droughts are consistent across the entire basin. This might be because the projected annual precipitation in the river basin shows a decline of 53–65% up to the end of this century (2100), and the average annual temperature is projected to increase by 1.8 °C, 3.5 °C, and 4.8 °C, respectively, for the three future periods of the 2020s, 2050s, and 2080s. Furthermore, the results show that the drought estimated by SPI and RDI for future climate scenarios is almost the same, whereas NDI estimates frequent drought events after the 2050s. However, for moderate drought, RDI, which includes the effects of evapotranspiration, was found to be far greater than SPI under both scenarios, and NDI considering temperature and precipitation also estimates a larger number of drought years, strengthening the possibility of its occurrence in the basin. A regional comparison of drought also indicates a decrease in precipitation in future periods, predominantly in high altitudes. Full article