Yu Tsuha, Hiroaki Somura, Vo Ngoc Quynh Tram, Toshitsugu Moroizumi
Received 18 July, 2024
Accepted 31 January, 2025
Published online 21 October, 2025
Yu Tsuha1), Hiroaki Somura1), Vo Ngoc Quynh Tram2), Toshitsugu Moroizumi1)
1) Graduate School of Environmental and Life Science, Okayama University, Japan
2) Research Center for Climate Change, Nong Lam University, Vietnam
Water resource vulnerability due to uneven precipitation and water allocations is a significant issue in many regions of the world, including the Mekong Delta. Although numerous studies have already evaluated drought tendencies in many parts of the Mekong Delta, some areas have been excluded. This study targeted these excluded areas, including one inland, one coastal area, and two islands, which are defined as "understudied regions." The meteorological drought intensity, frequency, and duration in the study areas in the Mekong Delta were evaluated using different time scales of the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) between 1994–2020. Unique contrasts in drought features were found between the study areas, indicating that severe drought events occupied the highest percentages inland from 2011 onward, while the most extreme drought events occurred in the coastal areas. Furthermore, trends in drought intensity, tendency, frequency, and duration were identified within the same delta region, demonstrating that combining SPI with other indicators can detect drought patterns in the Mekong Delta. These findings emphasize the importance of comprehensive evaluation of drought tendencies, including in understudied regions, for a better understanding of the features and future of water resources management.
Copyright (c) 2025 The Author(s) CC-BY 4.0
Copyright © 2023 HRL | Hydrological Research Letters. All Rights Reserved.