The alleviating trend of drought in the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain of China based on the daily SPEI

Drought is a major natural hazard that can have devastating impacts on regional agriculture, water resources and the environment. To assess the variability and pattern of drought characteristics in the Huang-Huai-Hai (HHH) Plain, the daily Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) is developed based on daily meteorological data in this study. The daily SPEI data are used, including Annual Total Drought Severity (ATDS), Annual Total Drought Duration (ATDD) and Annual Drought Frequency (ADF), which were calculated from 1981 to 2010 at 28 meteorological stations. We used the indices (ATDS, ATDD and ADF), Hovmoller diagrams and the reliable no parameter statistical methods of the Mann-Kendall test to assess the variability and pattern of drought characteristics for the period from 1981 to 2010 in the HHH plain. The results suggested that severe drought occurred in the 1980s, the late 1990s and the early 2000s, severe drought events occurred in 1981, 1986, 1997 and 2002. Decreasing trends for both ATDS and ATDD were found, and the drought situation did not worsen under global warming during the past 30 years, and the drought situation is alleviating in the entire HHH plain. The northeast and southwest regions of the HHH plain have suffered from more severe drought, and the north region is prone to drought. The results of the study can provide a scientific understanding for the adoption of countermeasures of regional defence against drought and also may serve as a reference point for drought hazard vulnerability analysis.