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Jul 3, 2024Keywords:
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Main Article Content
Comparison of Meteorological Drought Indices in Tanzania Using the Meteorological Drought Monitoring Software Package
Abstract
Low precipitation, substantial evaporation, and an unequal distribution
of precipitation throughout the area are the characteristics of drought,
a climatic abnormality. This study used the Meteorological Drought
Monitoring (MDM) software and monthly rainfall data from the
Tanzania Meteorological Authority (TMA) to examine and compare the
Deciles Index (DI), Standardised Precipitation Index (SPI), Percent of
Normal Index (PNI), Rainfall Anomaly Index (RAI), Z-Score Index (ZSI),
China-Z Index (CZI), and Modified China-Z Index (MCZI) for drought
monitoring in Tanzania from 1988 to 2017. It was found that ZSI
represented the dry years better than other indices, followed by DI, RAI,
PNI, SPI, CZI, and MCZI, based on the strength of the drought's
detection throughout a monthly time scale. Seasonally, DI emerged as
the most effective drought index for meteorological drought monitoring,
trailed by PNI and SPI. In comparison to SPI and PNI, the ZSI index
closely mimics Tanzania's climatological conditions on a geographical
scale. The study also demonstrates that ZSI outperformed SPI and PNI
in accurately determining the frequency of droughts with different
severities.
