A New Global 0.5° Gridded Dataset (1901–2006) of a Multiscalar Drought Index: Comparison with Current Drought Index Datasets Based on the Palmer Drought Severity Index

TLDR

The study presents a monthly global multiscalar drought index dataset and compares its spatial and temporal variability with existing continental and global datasets based on the Palmer Drought Severity Index. The index is derived from the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index using the CRU TS3.0 dataset at 0.5° resolution and is freely available in netCDF, binary raster, and plain text formats on the CSIC website. The new dataset offers higher spatial resolution, comparability with other datasets due to the probabilistic SPEI, and enables identification of multiple drought types through its multiscalar nature.

Abstract

Abstract A monthly global dataset of a multiscalar drought index is presented and compared in terms of spatial and temporal variability with the existing continental and global drought datasets based on the Palmer drought severity index (PDSI). The presented dataset is based on the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI). The index was obtained using the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) TS3.0 dataset at a spatial resolution of 0.5°. The advantages of the new dataset are that (i) it improves the spatial resolution of the unique global drought dataset at a global scale; (ii) it is spatially and temporally comparable to other datasets, given the probabilistic nature of the SPEI; and, in particular, (iii) it enables the identification of various drought types, given the multiscalar character of the SPEI. The dataset is freely available on the Web page of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) in three different formats [network Common Data Form (netCDF), binary raster, and plain text].