Assessing spatiotemporal dynamics of meteorological and agricultural drought in the North Basin of Afghanistan using multiple remote sensing-based drought indices

Nabizada M. J., Köylü Ü., Rousta I.

International Journal of River Basin Management, 2025 (ESCI, Scopus) identifier identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Basım Tarihi: 2025
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1080/15715124.2025.2528137
  • Dergi Adı: International Journal of River Basin Management
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, PASCAL, Agricultural & Environmental Science Database, Aqualine, Aquatic Science & Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA), Geobase, INSPEC, Civil Engineering Abstracts
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Mehdi Hamidi, Drought monitoring, North Basin-Afghanistan, remote sensing, multi-index approach, Google Earth Engine
  • Erciyes Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Drought is a complicated as well as poorly understood phenomenon, especially in arid and semi-arid regions with limited rainfall. The present study examines the spatiotemporal condition of drought in the North River Basin (NRB) of Afghanistan during the growing season (March–September) from 2000 to 2020. This study employed the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), Vegetation Condition Index (VCI), Temperature Condition Index (TCI), Soil Moisture Condition Index (SMCI), and the Mann–Kendall trend test using Google Earth Engine (GEE) and Python. According to NDVI result the highest vegetation cover recorded in 2003, 2005, 2009, and 2010, and the lowest in 2001, 2008, 2013, and 2018. The Mann–Kendall test exhibited no significant trends. SPI illustrated extreme to mild droughts in 1985, 1990, 2000, and 2013, with 2009 as the wettest year (SPI-3 = 1.975). According to VCI, 2003 was the greenest year and 2018 was the driest. Drought patterns were similar across all indices, with very slight differences. The mean correlation between SPI-1 and VCI, TCI, and SMCI was lowest in September (r = 0.23) and highest in April (r = 0.75). The most accurate index for tracking Afghanistan's drought over a long period was VCI.