Wang et al. (2026) Event-scale investigation on spatiotemporal propagation dynamics between meteorological and agricultural drought

Identification

• Journal: Agricultural Water Management
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-06-30
• Authors: Fei Wang, Mengting Du, Shengzhi Huang, Hexin Lai, Ruyi Men, Rong Li, Qian Xu, Ruirui Qi, Hui Li, Kai Feng, Yanbin Li, Qingqing Tian, Zezhong Zhang, Shen Dongfang, Haibo Yang
• DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110594

Research Groups

• School of Water Conservancy, North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power, Zhengzhou 450046, China
• Guizhou Provincial Department of Water Resources Science, Guiyang 550002, China
• School of Water Conservancy and Transportation, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China

Short Summary

This study investigates the spatiotemporal propagation dynamics between meteorological and agricultural drought in the Pearl River Basin (PRB) using a three-dimensional spatiotemporal clustering method. The results show that agricultural drought generally shows longer duration, higher severity, and broader spatial extent than meteorological drought.

Objective

• Investigate the cascading propagation processes from meteorological drought to agricultural drought in the PRB.
• Analyze the spatiotemporal response mechanisms, propagation pathways, and lag characteristics between different drought types.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: The study area is the Pearl River Basin (PRB) located in southern China.
• Temporal Scale: The study period covers 1982–2024.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Three-dimensional spatiotemporal clustering method, Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), and Standardized Soil moisture Index (SSI).
• Data sources: FLDAS dataset, digital elevation model, and land use type data.

Main Results

• A total of 419 meteorological drought events and 154 agricultural drought events were identified in the PRB during 1982–2024.
• Agricultural drought generally shows longer duration, higher severity, and broader spatial extent than meteorological drought.
• The most severe meteorological drought event occurred from August 2009 to April 2010, with a total severity of 204.05 × 10⁴⋅month⋅km².
• The most severe agricultural drought event occurred from August 2022 to April 2024, with a total severity of 845.50 × 10⁴⋅month⋅km².

Contributions

• This study provides a comprehensive understanding of the spatiotemporal propagation dynamics between meteorological and agricultural drought in the PRB.
• The results can be used to improve regional drought early warning and basin-scale water resources management.

Funding

• This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52109242).
• The project was also supported by the Key Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. XDA23020301).

Citation

@article{Wang2026Eventscale,
  author = {Wang, Fei and Du, Mengting and Huang, Shengzhi and Lai, Hexin and Men, Ruyi and Li, Rong and Xu, Qian and Qi, Ruirui and Li, Hui and Feng, Kai and Li, Yanbin and Tian, Qingqing and Zhang, Zezhong and Dongfang, Shen and Yang, Haibo},
  title = {Event-scale investigation on spatiotemporal propagation dynamics between meteorological and agricultural drought},
  journal = {Agricultural Water Management},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110594},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110594}
}