Spatial and temporal analysis of drought based on a combined index using copula

Drought as a natural disaster impresses people living. The main tool in better management of such phenomena is to explain its characteristics, using drought indices. The indices use precipitation, temperature, streamflow, and other hydrological variables to explain such events. In this study, standardized precipitation index (SPI) and stream-flow drought index (SDI) were used to develop a new combined drought index (CDI) based on copula functions. The proposed index function was evaluated in Khuzestan, Yazd and Golestan provinces of Iran from 1982 to 2012. These areas introduce different climate conditions. The index was analyzed temporally and spatially. In the temporal analysis, CDI was calculated separately for each station and the finest index was chosen by Kolmogorov–Smirnov and Chi-squared tests. In the spatial analysis, CDI was computed for two main scenarios and twenty sub-scenarios for the whole area of Golestan Province. The optimum index was chosen based on comparison with initial SPI and SDI. The results showed that CDI is more meticulous than both singular SPI and SDI, as it can trace a drought onset earlier and drought duration more accurate than the two individual indices and obviously display extreme states.