The Drought Regime in Southern Africa: Long-Term Space-Time Distribution of Main Drought Descriptors

Drought consequences depend on its type and class and on the preparedness and resistance of communities, which, in turn, depends on the knowledge and capacity to manage this climate disturbance. Therefore, this study aims to assess the drought regime in Southern Africa based on vegetation and meteorological indices. The SPI and SPEI were calculated at different timescales, using ERA5 data for the 1971–2020 period. The results revealed the following: (i) droughts of various classes at different timescales occurred throughout the study period and region; (ii) a greater Sum of Drought Intensity and Number, in all classes, but lower duration and severity of droughts with the SPI than with the SPEI; (iii) drought frequency varies from 1.3 droughts/decade to 4.5 droughts/decade, for the SPI at 12- to 3-month timescales; (iv) the number, duration, severity and intensity of drought present high spatial variability, which tends to decrease with the increasing timescale; (v) the area affected by drought increased, on average, 6.6%/decade with the SPI and 9.1%/decade with the SPEI; and (vi) a high spatial-temporal agreement between drought and vegetation indices that confirm the dryness of vegetation during drought. These results aim to support policymakers and managers in defining legislation and strategies to manage drought and water resources.