sustainability Article Drought Identification and Trend Analysis Using Long-Term CHIRPS Satellite Precipitation Product in Bundelkhand, India Varsha Pandey 1, Prashant K Srivastava 1,2,* , Sudhir K Singh 3 , George P. Petropoulos 4 and Rajesh Kumar Mall 2 1 Remote Sensing Laboratory, Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, India;
[email protected] 2 DST-Mahamana Center of Excellence in Climate Change Research, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221005, India;
[email protected] 3 K. Banerjee Centre of Atmospheric and Ocean Studies, Nehru Science Centre, IIDS, University of Allahabad, Allahabad 211002, India;
[email protected] 4 Department of Geography, Harokopio University of Athens, El. Venizelou 70, Kallithea, 17671 Athens, Greece;
[email protected] * Correspondence:
[email protected] Abstract: Drought hazard mapping and its trend analysis has become indispensable due to the aggravated impact of drought in the era of climate change. Sparse observational networks with minimal maintenance limit the spatio-temporal coverage of precipitation data, which has been a major constraint in the effective drought monitoring. In this study, high-resolution satellite-derived Climate Hazards Group Infrared Precipitation with Station (CHIRPS) data has been used for computation of Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI). The study was carried out in Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh, India, known for its substantial drought occurrences with poor drought management plans and lack of effective preparedness. Very limited studies have been carried out in assessing Citation: Pandey, V.; Srivastava, P.K; the spatio-temporal drought in this region. This study aims to identify district-wide drought and Singh, S.K; Petropoulos, G.P.; Mall, its trend characterization from 1981 to 2018.