Drought characterization and risk assessment are of great significance due to drought’s negative impact on human health, economy, and ecosystem. This paper investigates drought characterization and risk assessment in the Lempa River basin in Central America. We applied the Standardized Evapotranspiration Deficit Index (SEDI) for drought characterization and drought hazard index (DHI) calculation. Although SEDI’s applicability is theoretically proven, it has been rarely applied. Drought risk is generally derived from the interactions between drought hazard (DHI) and vulnerability (DVI) indices but neglects resilience’s inherent impact. Accordingly, we propose incorporating DHI, DVI, and drought resilience index (DREI) to calculate drought risk index (DRI). Since system factors are not equally vulnerable, i.e., they are heterogeneous, our methodology applies the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to find the weights of the selected factors for the DVI computation. Finally, we propose a geometric mean method for DRI calculation. Results show a rise in DHI during 2006–2010 that affected DRI. We depict the applicability of SEDI via its relationship with El Nino-La Nina and El Salvador’s cereal production. This research provides a systematic drought risk assessment approach that is useful for decision-makers to allocate resources more smartly or intervene in Drought Risk Reduction (DRR). This research is also useful for those interested in socioeconomic drought.

Drought assessment and monitoring are essential for its proper management. Drought indices play a fundamental role in this. This research introduces the Wet-environment Evapotranspiration and Precipitation Standardized Index (WEPSI) for drought assessment and monitoring. WEPSI incorporates water supply and demand into the drought index calculation. WEPSI considers precipitation (P) for water supply and wet-environment evapotranspiration (ET w ) for water demand. We use an asymmetric complementary relationship to calculate ET w with actual (ET a ) and potential evapotranspiration (ET p ). WEPSI is tested in the transboundary Lempa River basin in the Central American dry corridor. ET w is estimated based on evapotranspiration data calculated using the Water Evaluation And Planning (WEAP) system hydrological model. To investigate the performance of WEPSI, we compare it with two well-known meteorological indices (Standardized Precipitation Index and Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index), together with a hydrological index (Standardized Runoff Index), in terms of statistical metrics and mutual information (MI). We compare WEPSI-derived droughts and historical information, including crop production, cereal yield, and the Oceanic Nino Index (ONI). Results show WEPSI has the highest correlation and MI, and the lowest deviation. It is consistent with the records of the crop production index, cereal yield, and the ONI. Findings show that WEPSI can be used for agricultural drought assessments.

No abstract

Drought assessment and monitoring are essential for its proper management. Drought indices play a fundamental role in this. This research introduces the Wet-environment Evapotranspiration and Precipitation Standardized Index (WEPSI) for drought assessment and monitoring. WEPSI incorporates water supply and demand into the drought index calculation. WEPSI considers precipitation (P) for water supply and wet-environment evapotranspiration (ET w ) for water demand. We use an asymmetric complementary relationship to calculate ET w with actual (ET a ) and potential evapotranspiration (ET p ). WEPSI is tested in the transboundary Lempa River basin in the Central American dry corridor. ET w is estimated based on evapotranspiration data calculated using the Water Evaluation And Planning (WEAP) system hydrological model. To investigate the performance of WEPSI, we compare it with two well-known meteorological indices (Standardized Precipitation Index and Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index), together with a hydrological index (Standardized Runoff Index), in terms of statistical metrics and mutual information (MI). We compare WEPSI-derived droughts and historical information, including crop production, cereal yield, and the Oceanic Nino Index (ONI). Results show WEPSI has the highest correlation and MI, and the lowest deviation. It is consistent with the records of the crop production index, cereal yield, and the ONI. Findings show that WEPSI can be used for agricultural drought assessments.

No abstract

Drought assessment and monitoring are essential for its proper management. Drought indices play a fundamental role in this. This research introduces the Wet-environment Evapotranspiration and Precipitation Standardized Index (WEPSI) for drought assessment and monitoring. WEPSI incorporates water supply and demand into the drought index calculation. WEPSI considers precipitation (P) for water supply and wet-environment evapotranspiration (ETw) for water demand. We use an asymmetric complementary relationship to calculate ETw with actual (ETa) and potential evapotranspiration (ETp). WEPSI is tested in the transboundary Lempa River basin in the Central American dry corridor. ETw is estimated based on evapotranspiration data calculated using the Water Evaluation And Planning (WEAP) system hydrological model. To investigate the performance of WEPSI, we compare it with two well-known meteorological indices (Standardized Precipitation Index and Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index), together with a hydrological index (Standardized Runoff Index), in terms of statistical metrics and mutual information (MI). We compare WEPSI-derived droughts and historical information, including crop production, cereal yield, and the Oceanic Nino Index (ONI). Results show WEPSI has the highest correlation and MI, and the lowest deviation. It is consistent with the records of the crop production index, cereal yield, and the ONI. Findings show that WEPSI can be used for agricultural drought assessments.