The spatial and temporal analysis of dry spells in the Yellow River basin, China

Abstract In this research, drought in Yellow River basin has been studied by using dry spells. Three indices, including the maximum length (MxDS), mean length (MDS) and number of dry spells (NDS), and five periods (annual, winter, spring, summer and autumn) are considered. The results show that a south to north gradient for mean MxDS and MDS has been dominantly found in all periods except …