Space-time heterogeneity of drought characteristics in Sabah and Sarawak, East Malaysia: implications for developing effective drought monitoring and mitigation strategies
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
10-1-2023
Abstract
Natural calamities like droughts have harmed not just humanity throughout history but also the economy, food, agricultural production, flora, animal habitat, etc. A drought monitoring system must incorporate a study of the geographical and temporal fluctuation of the drought characteristics to function effectively. This study investigated the space-time heterogeneity of drought features across Sabah and Sarawak, East Malaysia. The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPIs) at timescales of 1-month, 3-months, and 6-months was selected to determine the spatial distribution of drought characteristics. Rainfall hydrographs for the area for 30 years between 1988 and 2017 have been used in this study. A total of six five-year sub-periods were studied, with an emphasis on the lowest and highest drought occurrence. The sub-periods were a division of the 30 years over an arbitrary continual division for convenience. The results showed that the sub-periods 1993-1997 and 2008-2012 had the highest and lowest comparative drought events. The drought conditions were particularly severe in Central and Eastern parts of East Malaysia, owing to El Nino events and the country's hilly terrain. Understanding how and when drought occurs can aid in establishing and developing drought mitigation strategies for the region.
Keywords
Drought, Standardized precipitation index, Rainfall, East Malaysia
Divisions
sch_civ
Funders
This study was funded by Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), Malaysia, via Project Research Assistantship (Project Number: UTARRPS 6251/H03).
Publication Title
Applied Water Science
Volume
13
Issue
10
Publisher
Springer Heidelberg
Publisher Location
TIERGARTENSTRASSE 17, D-69121 HEIDELBERG, GERMANY