An Innovative Holistic Framework for Drought Analysis: Integrating Temporal and Spatial Perspectives for Improved Drought Risk Assessment

The existing literature has studied and addressed the limitations of traditional drought evaluation methods, which often depend on one station without considering the spatiotemporal integration, resulting in an incomplete drought assessment. Given these limitations, this research proposes a new approach using the Specific Period (SP) and Precipitation Index (PI) concepts and aims to provide new perspectives for drought analysis. The methodology focuses on integrating all stations within the study area, allowing for a more comprehensive understanding of the evolution and characteristics of drought at each month. The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) at Konya Endorheic Basin (KEB) is used in this research to define drought events at multiple time scales, both for the SPI and Run theories. The main objective is to develop an innovative holistic framework for drought evaluation. The results demonstrate that the new approach improves the accuracy and consistency of drought detection compared to traditional methods. The results showed that drought durations ranged from 23 to 29 months for SPI-12 in regions such as Cihanbeyli, Ereğli, and Seydisehir. In contrast, regions such as Aksaray and Konya Havalimanı emerged as the least affected, with positive PI values between +0.14 and +0.19, compared to negative values of −0.71 to −0.83 in Seydisehir, Ereğli, and Cihanbeyli, indicating spatial variations in drought evolution within the KEB. This research provides a more comprehensive framework for monitoring drought in semi-arid regions, supporting water resource management policies and climate change adaptation and mitigation plans.