Assessment of Drought Risk in the Ergene Basin

Türkçe

On a regional scale, Turkey is located in a sensitive area because of its geographical position, and the region's topography makes it vulnerable to drought. The Ergene Basin, which is the research area, has been at risk of drought in recent years. Therefore, determining the potential onset time of drought and researching its possible effects and duration are of critical importance for the basin. This study aims to characterize the climate of the Ergene Basin and to assess its drought potential. The Thornthwaite climate classification and the Mann-Kendall test were used to examine climatic characteristics, while the Standardised Precipitation Index was used to examine drought potential. The basin falls under the semi-arid (low-humidity) and semi-humid climate classifications. Drought analyses have revealed that the basin exhibits a trend of increasing aridity from north to south.