Meteorological and hydrological drought analysis of the Seyhan−Ceyhan River Basins, Turkey

ABSTRACT The increase in concern about drought in the Seyhan−Ceyhan River Basins in Turkey has brought about the need to define temporal and spatial drought variations. Unlike previous studies that cover this region in the current literature, sufficient amounts of data from 14 meteorological and 12 streamflow stations are used in the form of 3, 6 and 12 month timescales allowing both meteorological and hydrological drought analyses to be conducted in detail. The standardized precipitation index and streamflow drought index methods are employed for the drought analyses presented. The location, period and occurrence level of drought events for this region are specified and presented graphically. The correlation between hydrological and meteorological droughts suggests that there is a specific lag time for the droughts such that a meteorological drought emerges in the following year as a hydrological drought. Accordingly, the predicted hydrological drought period may allow for better planning of the efficient use of water resources and hydroelectric and agricultural production in this region.