Meteorological drought analysis in northern Iraq using SPI and GIS

Droughts are major natural disasters for many parts of the world. Iraq is one of the countries which are recently facing frequent severe drought events, especially the northern region which is considered as the breadbasket of the country. Successful management of water in droughts needs understanding its causes and development. The study aimed to discuss the effects of drought with its features; frequency of occurrence and spatial distribution, to recognize drought covered areas’ distribution and drought impact on the northern region of Iraq. The study utilizes the standardized precipitation index (SPI) at different time scales, i.e., 3, 6, 12, and 24-month, to analyze the meteorological drought. Monthly rainfall data for the period 1937–2010 were utilized from nine meteorological stations scattered in the study area to assess SPI values. Drought distribution within the study area with different time scales was mapped employing the geographic information system. Our results showed that the study area has suffered from frequent severe drought events, which were hitting in nearly every decade, and the most severe drought periods were during the years 1997–2001 and 2006–2010. The results exposed that most of the drought events fall in mild drought category according to the SPI classification. Besides, it has been shown that the eastern part of the study area has experienced many severe droughts considering accumulated deficits and drought period length. However, the severe drought events were much harmful on the western part of the study area due to its low annual rainfall rates.