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Evolution of meteorological drought characteristics in Vietnam during the 1961–2007 period

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Abstract

The drought conditions over the seven sub-climatological regions in Vietnam are examined using three meteorological drought indices: de Martonne J, PED, and Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI). According to the seasonal probabilities of drought occurrence estimated by the de Martonne index, droughts mainly occur between November and March in all the sub-regions. The PED index and the SPI index generally show high probabilities of drought occurrence from April to August and from May to October, respectively. In the southern sub-regions of Vietnam, droughts more frequently occur in El Niño years and wet conditions are more frequently observed in La Niña years. However, such El Niño–Southern Oscillation influences are not clearly observed in the northern sub-regions. During 1961–2007, droughts significantly increased in the northern part of Vietnam. In the southern regions, PED shows increasing drought conditions while J and SPI show decreasing drought trends for almost all the stations.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Vietnam Ministry of Science and Technology Foundation (DT.NCCB-DHUD.2011-G/10), the 11-P04-VIE DANIDA project, and the Vietnam National Foundation for Science and Technology Development (NAFOSTED, code 105.06-2013.03).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Meteorology, Hanoi College of Science, Vietnam National University, 334 Nguyen Trai, ThanhXuan, Hanoi, Vietnam, 10000

    Hang Vu-Thanh, Thanh Ngo-Duc & Tan Phan-Van

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  1. Hang Vu-Thanh
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  2. Thanh Ngo-Duc
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  3. Tan Phan-Van
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Correspondence to Hang Vu-Thanh.

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Vu-Thanh, H., Ngo-Duc, T. & Phan-Van, T. Evolution of meteorological drought characteristics in Vietnam during the 1961–2007 period. Theor Appl Climatol 118, 367–375 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-013-1073-z

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