Drought assessment in tiruchirapalli district using varied time scales

Drought analysis was carried out in Tiruchirapalli district of Tamil Nadu State of India using standardized precipitation index (SPI) with 35 years of rainfall data and drought affected years were identified, months, which receive maximum rainfall and average precipitation of the district were estimated. The analysis was carried out in 1, 2, 3, 6, 12 and 24 month time intervals on SPI scale. The district was not a severe drought affected region but some mild to moderate drought occurred in the past 35 years and no severe or extreme droughts. The years 1980, 1989 and 2002 were observed most deficit years. The average rainfall was 862 mm. Some of the mitigation measures may provide relief at the existing drought incident scenarios were discussed.