Meteorological drought monitoring based on multivariate statistical and probability indices in Hormozgan province

Drought is a complex multivariate phenomenon that cannot be investigated using conventional univariate indices. In the current study, the meteorological drought has been assessed based on multivariate statistical and probability indices in Hormozgan province during 1986-2016. Therefore, the MSPI standardized multivariate precipitation index was calculated using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and JDI using Kendall's empirical function. Next. the drought characteristics were extracted to compare the efficiency of the two indices. The results showed: 1) In drought monitoring of the study period, MSPI estimated the maximum intensity values more than JDI, 2) In assessment of a historical drought in 2001, the MSPI provided a more realistic image of the drought than JDI, 3) The correlation between drought characteristics (severity, duration, and magnitude) in most cases in MSPI was higher than JDI, which means that the correlation structure is better than the joint functions, and 4) Estimates of the frequency of drought classes from mild to extreme showed that MSPI was better at these classes and was more accurate than the drought classes. Finally, the MSPI is capable to provide a realistic image of the drought for a multivariate drought assessment.