Meteorological Drought Assessment in the Eastern Slovakia

Abstract

The paper deals with the evaluation of meteorological droughts in eastern Slovakia. It is focused on description of method that is used to analyze and assess the river basin vulnerability through SPI index - standardized precipitation index (SPI). SPI index is applied for detecting dry and humid climate anomalies as well as could be used for characterizing the duration, severity and intensity of an extreme event period. SPI is a widely used index for monitoring meteorological drought. The paper presents result of applied index in the conditions of eastern Slovakia. The tools used in risk assessment include geographic information systems, which are an effective tool, in particular to simulate and model extreme events. These systems address different types of spatial analysis and allow thematic maps to identify vulnerable areas that are irreplaceable in water resource management.