Mapping Drought Patterns and Impacts: A Global Perspective.
Citation:
Eriyagama, Nishadi; Smakhtin, Vladimir; Gamage, Nilantha. 2009. Mapping drought patterns and impacts: a global perspective. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 23p. (IWMI Research Report 133) [doi: 10.3910/2009.132]
Abstract
The study examines the global pattern and impacts of droughts through mapping several drought-related characteristics – either at a country level or at regular grid scales. It appears that arid and semi-arid areas also tend to have a higher probability of drought occurrence. It is illustrated that the African continent is lagging behind the rest of the world on many indicators related to drought-preparedness and that agricultural economies, overall, are much more vulnerable to adverse societal impacts of meteorological droughts. The study also examines the ability of various countries to satisfy their water needs during droughts using storage-related indices.
ISBN 978-92-9090-711-4
ISSN 1026-0862
MAP DOWNLOAD AREA FOR RESEARCH REPORT 135:
Eriyagama et al. (2009)
The original figures from Research Report 133 may be downloaded in JPG or EPS format using the hyperlinks below on the condition that:
- The source is duly acknowledged in any such subsequent reproduction/modification of the maps. The source should be cited as:Eriyagama, N.; Smakhtin, V.; Gamage, N. 2009. Mapping drought patterns and impacts: a global perspective. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute. 31p. (IWMI Research Report 133)
- The information on where/how the map(s) will be reproduced/modified is sent to: n.eriyagama@cgiar.org.
Figure 1 (a): Global distribution of long-term Mean Annual Precipitation
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Figure 1 (b): Global distribution of the Coefficient of Variation of long-term Mean Annual Precipitation
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Figure 1 (c): Global distribution of the Probability (%) of annual precipitation in any year being less than 75% of its long-term mean
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Figure 2: Per capita Mean Annual River Discharge by 0.50 grid cell
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Figure 3 (a): Agricultural Water Crowding with respect to mean annual precipitation (population sharing one cubic kilometer of precipitation falling on croplands within 0.50 grid cell)
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Figure 3 (b): Agricultural Water Crowding (population sharing one cubic kilometer of precipitation falling on croplands within 0.50 grid cell) under a global drought condition (mean annual precipitation minus mean annual precipitation deficit)
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Figure 4: Agricultural Water Crowding with respect to mean annual river discharge (population sharing one cubic kilometer of river water available for croplands within 0.50 grid cell)
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Figure 5: Infrastructure Vulnerability Index based on the percentage of people having access to an improved water source and general accessibility of rural areas through the road network
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Figure 6: Biophysical Vulnerability Index based on mean annual surface runoff, mean annual groundwater recharge, soil depth and soil degradation severity within 0.50 grid cell
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Figure 7: Socioeconomic Drought Vulnerability Index based on the crop diversity of individual countries and their dependence on agriculture for income and employment generation
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Figure 8: Drought Risk Index with respect to Monthly Precipitation based on the frequency of meteorological (precipitation) drought occurrence and drought intensity (deficit below long-term mean)
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Figure 9: Drought Risk Index with respect to Monthly River Discharge based on the frequency of hydrological (river discharge) drought occurrence and drought intensity (deficit below long-term mean)
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Figure 10: Mean Drought Run Duration based on monthly river discharge (sum of durations of all identified drought runs divided by the number of runs)
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Figure 11: Storage as a Proportion of a Country’s Total Annual Renewable Freshwater Resources
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Figure 12: Storage-Drought Duration (Length) Index – ratio between i) the duration (in months) that the storage capacity in a country is able to satisfy national water needs, and ii) annual hydrological drought duration (how long a drought can last in a single
Year), calculated relative to the long-term mean monthly river discharge
Figure 13: Storage-Drought Deficit Index – how much of the long-term annual hydrological (river discharge) drought deficit is satisfied by the existing storage capacity in a country
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