| Abstract [eng] |
Droughts are one of the most dangerous and damage-causing natural phenomena. Four types of droughts are usually distinguished worldwide: meteorological, agrometeorological, hydrological, and socioeconomic droughts. In Lithuania, droughts are commonly associated with the agrometeorological droughts. The aim of the study – the analysis of droughts and dry periods and their dynamics according to various drought indices. In this thesis SPI, HTC and SRI drought indexes were used. In Lithuania and the Baltic Sea region, the total number of the droughts identified using the SPI is decreasing, but the number of short-term meteorological droughts during the summer period is increasing. It is possible that similar tendencies might remain in the 21st century. At present, for identification of droughts the only method is officially used in Lithuania – it is HTC. However, this method is not suitable for the identification of agrometeorological droughts because it is not related to the soil moisture and consequences caused by droughts. The droughts according to HTC during the growing season become more frequent in Lithuania and cover larger territories. The number of hydrological droughts of various durations according to SRI at the analysed Lithuanian river basins decreased. |
