Longitudinal Drought Patterns and Predictive Analysis in Lalitpur, Uttar Pradesh, India: An Application of SPI and SPEI

Drought is a significant hydrological hazard that leaves a serious footprint on the environment, society and human life. Water resources, agricultural productivity, ecosystems, livelihoods and socio-economic well-beings are negatively impacted by drought. This make a serious footprint on the environment, society and also human lives. Nowadays, many regions of the worlds are experiencing increasing frequent and a severe drought condition. Natural climatic variability and anthropogenic factors combinedly influence the drought patterns and trends. This study investigates the spatial and temporal characteristics and variation of drought patterns in Lalitpur District of Uttar Pradesh State, India. Thirty-five years metrological data collected from the NASA POWER Access Viewer were used to fulfil the research objectives. Two drought indices, Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) were calculated 3, 6, 9 and 12 month timescales. For asses the direction and statistical significance of temporal trends, Spearman’s rank correlation method was used. Sen’s slope estimator was employed to quantifying magnitude of these trends. The result indicates the occurrence of drought over multiple years and reveals a tendency toward increasing drought severity. Variations in rainfall patterns, overuse of ground water, agricultural transformation and changes in land use pattern may be contribute to the observed of drought trends. As a result, agricultural productivity in this region is also significantly affected. Future projections for 2026–2035 indicated drought occurrence of 11.67%, 8.33%, 1.67%, and 9.17% for SPI-3, SPI-6, SPI-9, and SPI-12, respectively, while SPEI projected 5.83%, 3.33%, 1.67%, and 0.83% at the corresponding time scales. The findings highlight the importance of multi-timescale drought assessment and forecasting for effective drought monitoring, water-resource management, and agricultural planning in Lalitpur District.