Abstract:

Drought is defined as a disaster that affects vital activities negatively due to the decrease in the water supply caused by falling rainfall below normal levels observed over the years. Agricultural drought means that the moisture content in the soil is consistently falling below the climatically appropriate amount, so this directly affects vegetative production and indirectly affects animal production. This study aims to determine dry periods and areas in the Ceyhan Basin by using the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI). Thus, policies that will reduce the effects of drought will be developed in the regions affected by drought. The SPI has several features that are more advanced than previous indexes, including simplicity and temporal flexibility, and allow for use in all timelines for water resources. The results have shown that the past five years have been dry and the drought has increased over the years, and it is also wiser to grow drought-resistant crops and use pressurized irrigation methods in Afşin and Elbistan, the driest districts of the basin, to improve water efficiency.

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