Monitoring the temporal changes of meteorological drought in areas of western Iran

Drought is a natural phenomenon that has a significant impact on human life, and examining its temporal and spatial changes can be effective in dealing with the effects of this phenomenon. The aim of this study is to investigate the meteorological drought trend using the index (SPI) and the Mann-Kendall test at the level of Lorestan province. Using the index (SPI), the precipitation data of 9 synoptic stations and 23 rain gauge stations in the statistical period (1377-1397) were analyzed at the province level. The results showed that, in general, the province faced drought in 1987 and 1978. The results of the Mann-Kendall test showed that the trend of changes in the drought index of Seleseh city was significant and incremental at the probability level of 95, and the rest of the cities were not significant. Also, considering the number of drought categories in different years for selected stations, the driest station, Kohdasht station and the wettest station, Noorabad station were introduced.