Assessing drought characteristics of Melaka basin using joint meteorological and streamflow indices

Abstract

In this study, drought occurrence in the Melaka basin has been assessed using the meteorological and hydrological drought indices. A continuous rainfall and streamflow data of 40 years were used for drought analysis. Results show that in terms of meteorological drought index, the severe drought occurred in 1986-1988. The streamflow drought index indicates that the extreme drought occurred in 1982-1984. Further analysis based on seasonal precipitation and streamflow data shows that there is no drought for 79% of the time for the period 1960-2000 where there are hydrological records. For most of the dry and wet seasons, it is more likely that the frequency of occurrence of hydrological droughts only is higher than the frequency of occurrence of meteorological and hydrological droughts simultaneously or only meteorological droughts.