Drought is one of the natural disasters of tremendous significance owing to intensity, duration, magnitude, financial damage and long-term impacts in comparison with other disasters. The evaluation of drought is aimed at identifying the onset, continuity and severity of drought. Reliable surveillance of drought and early warning are essential in preparing for drought, planning and mitigating future effects, particularly early warnings of famine. In present study, meteorological drought indices such as the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and the Reconnaissance Drought Index (RDI) were used for drought assessment in Panchmahals district of Gujarat state for period of 99 years (1900 – 1999). The objective of the study was to supervise and compare the drought using SPI and RDI. The results of this study showed that the RDI is more sensitive than the SPI to climatic conditions and so we can’t neglect the role of evapotranspiration in drought assessments. The results also showed that both indices behave in the same manner, but RDI due to use of potential evapotranspiration in similar climatic conditions is more sensitive. Based on the findings of this research, it is suggested that the RDI index be used as the appropriate drought index for water resource planning and management in drought surveillance schemes. | Assessment and comparison of SPI and RDI meteorological drought indices in Panchmahals district of Gujarat, India
