Spatiotemporal variations of multi-scale drought in Shandong Province from 1961 to 2017

Drought has caused serious damage to the water resource system and agricultural production in Shandong Province, China. This study calculated the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) based on the monthly precipitation and average temperature data of 25 meteorological stations in Shandong Province from 1961 to 2017. The trend analysis method and ArcGIS software were utilized to analyze the multi-scale (SPEI-1, SPEI-3, and SPEI-12) spatiotemporal changes of drought. The results revealed that (1) The intensity of drought showed an increasing trend in Shandong Province from 1961 to 2017; (2) The main periods of the drought on the seasonal scale (spring, summer, autumn, and winter) and annual scale were 8 years, 4 years, 15 years, 4 years, and 4 years, respectively; (3) Of the four seasons, the frequency of drought in autumn and winter were the highest. At the annual scale, the high-frequency drought areas were mainly concentrated in the southern mountainous regions; (4) In terms of the spatial change trend of drought, Shandong Province as a whole displayed a trend of becoming wet in the central and southwest regions and dry in the eastern region; and (5) Droughts were discovered to be simultaneously influenced by multiple atmospheric circulation indices in Shandong Province. HIGHLIGHTS The intensity of drought showed an increasing trend.; The spatial distribution of drought in Shandong Province varies greatly at different scales.; The aridity trend across the entire province in autumn.; Droughts in Shandong Province were simultaneously affected by multiple atmospheric circulation indices.;