Multivariate drought analysis for the temperature homogeneous regions of India: Lessons from the Gomati River basin

Droughts inflict significant loss on agricultural economies. Gomati River basin, the area of present study, is located within Ganga floodplains, which approximately coincide with north central temperature homogeneous region (NCTHR) India. basin a non-perennial one supporting water intensive crops. To ascertain occurrence droughts (if any) from 1986 to 2015 in terms inter-dependencies drought causing variables through study multivariate indices, main objective study. Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was used combination Copula approach construct standardized indices (MSDIs) for onset detection simulation face data scarcity. Although MSDI based assessment as whole did not detect any droughts, upper MSDIs indicated possibilities impending marked by their consistent variability around near-normal conditions. This methodology can be situations scarce river basins floodplains including NCTHR