Monitoring and characterization of meteorological and hydrological drought in the high Ziz watershed

The understanding of the characteristics and the effects of drought is essential for an effective drought assessment and management in all regions of the globe. The south-east of Morocco is characterized by an arid and semi-arid climate, and the High Ziz watershed, which is part of this region of Morocco, is the area in that this study was conducted, consisting of the evaluation and characterization of the meteorological and the hydrological drought, respectively, through the application of the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), and the standardized Streamflow Index (SSI) indices on the time scales of 3, 6 and 12 months. The analysis of the indices shows that the study area has experienced several drought events with different characteristics depending on the time scale of calculation. In addition, this analysis has enabled the behavior of meteorological and hydrological drought.