Spatiotemporal characteristics of drought in the Tarim River Basin from 2000 to 2022 based on the SPEI

This study used the Thornthwaite method to calculate SPEI. The characteristics of spatiotemporal variations of temperature, precipitation, SPEI, and drought variables were analyzed using methods such as climate inclination rate. The study found that: (1) Spring temperature and growing season precipitation show increase of 0.4 °C and 9.2 mm for every ten years, respectively. The temperature inclination rate gradually increases from the eastern to central regions, while the precipitation inclination rate gradually increases from the southern to northern regions. The SPEI inclination rate gradually increases from the southwest to the northeast. (2) There are differences in abrupt change points in temperature, precipitation, and SPEI, the years of abrupt change points in annual temperature, annual precipitation, and SPEI-12 were 2010, 2015, and 2016, respectively. (3) Light drought occurs in the northeast and western regions, moderate drought in the central and southern regions, severe drought in the eastern and central western regions, and extreme drought in the northeast regions. (4) The drought intensity increases throughout the year and in spring, with an increase of 0.04 and 0.18 for every ten years, respectively, while it decreases during summer, autumn, and growing season, with a decrease of 0.18, 0.14 and 0.03 for every ten years, respectively. The drought intensity throughout the year and in each season is mainly light. The study contributes to a deeper understanding of the spatiotemporal characteristics of drought in the Tarim River Basin.