Spatio-temporal variability of droughts over the Mullaitivu District in Sri Lanka from 1980 to 2020

This research aims to evaluate the spatio-temporal changes of annual and seasonal droughts of the Mullaitivu District in Sri Lanka from 1980 to 2020 using the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI). Four homogeneity tests were performed to identify the inhomogeneity of the monthly rainfall data obta...

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Main Authors: Piratheeparajah Nagamuthu, Tan, Mou Leong, Chan, Ngai Weng, Zhang, Fei
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2022
Online Access:http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18511/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18511/1/47935-178372-1-PB.pdf
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author Piratheeparajah Nagamuthu,
Tan, Mou Leong
Chan, Ngai Weng
Zhang, Fei
author_facet Piratheeparajah Nagamuthu,
Tan, Mou Leong
Chan, Ngai Weng
Zhang, Fei
author_sort Piratheeparajah Nagamuthu,
building UKM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description This research aims to evaluate the spatio-temporal changes of annual and seasonal droughts of the Mullaitivu District in Sri Lanka from 1980 to 2020 using the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI). Four homogeneity tests were performed to identify the inhomogeneity of the monthly rainfall data obtained from twelve stations. Good quality observed data were chosen to measure SPI for determining the frequency, severity, and intensity of the drought events. This was followed by Mann Kendall's (M-K) test to analyze the drought occurrences trend. Further, the relationship between the drought events and Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) was explored to understand how large-scale atmospheric circulation influences the local droughts. The findings show that dry periods occurred in 1982, 1998, and 2018, while 1989, 1992, 1994, 2001, 2003, 2007, and 2011 experienced severe dry phases. In addition, June, July, and August were identified as the dry months in the study area. Spatially drought over the Mullaitivu District spread from west to east, where the drought vulnerability originated in the west in March and moved eastward. A strong positive correlation (r = 0.83) between the drought events and IOD showed that IOD has considerably influenced the drought formation over the Mullaitivu District.
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spelling oai:generic.eprints.org:185112022-04-22T03:05:04Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18511/ Spatio-temporal variability of droughts over the Mullaitivu District in Sri Lanka from 1980 to 2020 Piratheeparajah Nagamuthu, Tan, Mou Leong Chan, Ngai Weng Zhang, Fei This research aims to evaluate the spatio-temporal changes of annual and seasonal droughts of the Mullaitivu District in Sri Lanka from 1980 to 2020 using the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI). Four homogeneity tests were performed to identify the inhomogeneity of the monthly rainfall data obtained from twelve stations. Good quality observed data were chosen to measure SPI for determining the frequency, severity, and intensity of the drought events. This was followed by Mann Kendall's (M-K) test to analyze the drought occurrences trend. Further, the relationship between the drought events and Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) was explored to understand how large-scale atmospheric circulation influences the local droughts. The findings show that dry periods occurred in 1982, 1998, and 2018, while 1989, 1992, 1994, 2001, 2003, 2007, and 2011 experienced severe dry phases. In addition, June, July, and August were identified as the dry months in the study area. Spatially drought over the Mullaitivu District spread from west to east, where the drought vulnerability originated in the west in March and moved eastward. A strong positive correlation (r = 0.83) between the drought events and IOD showed that IOD has considerably influenced the drought formation over the Mullaitivu District. Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2022 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18511/1/47935-178372-1-PB.pdf Piratheeparajah Nagamuthu, and Tan, Mou Leong and Chan, Ngai Weng and Zhang, Fei (2022) Spatio-temporal variability of droughts over the Mullaitivu District in Sri Lanka from 1980 to 2020. Geografia : Malaysian Journal of Society and Space, 18 (1). pp. 15-31. ISSN 2180-2491 https://ejournal.ukm.my/gmjss/issue/view/1468
spellingShingle Piratheeparajah Nagamuthu,
Tan, Mou Leong
Chan, Ngai Weng
Zhang, Fei
Spatio-temporal variability of droughts over the Mullaitivu District in Sri Lanka from 1980 to 2020
title Spatio-temporal variability of droughts over the Mullaitivu District in Sri Lanka from 1980 to 2020
title_full Spatio-temporal variability of droughts over the Mullaitivu District in Sri Lanka from 1980 to 2020
title_fullStr Spatio-temporal variability of droughts over the Mullaitivu District in Sri Lanka from 1980 to 2020
title_full_unstemmed Spatio-temporal variability of droughts over the Mullaitivu District in Sri Lanka from 1980 to 2020
title_short Spatio-temporal variability of droughts over the Mullaitivu District in Sri Lanka from 1980 to 2020
title_sort spatio-temporal variability of droughts over the mullaitivu district in sri lanka from 1980 to 2020
url http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18511/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18511/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18511/1/47935-178372-1-PB.pdf