Drought Analysis for 2007-2008 Agricultural Year of Turkey

Abstract

Drought is among the most significant natural disasters and has severe economical, social and environmental impacts. It is somehow different from the other natural disasters since it is hard to determine exact start and end dates of drought. Drought gradually increases its severity and may keep its effects for years after the end of drought. Effects of drought is initially observed in agriculture and diffused gradually into waterrelated sectors. The recent global drought and utilization of agricultural crops for bio-fuel production has created significant problems in food supply. For instance, as a result of the drought experienced in the year of 2007, wheat production was not sufficient. Beside this, consumption increased for bio-fuel production and wheat prices in international markets increased by 3 folds. These problems observed in basic agricultural crops like maize and rice has brought forward the significance of continuous drought monitoring and analysis. In this study, the drought experienced in 2007-2008 Agricultural Year of Turkey was analyzed and contributions were tried to be made for future production activities. The drought was evaluated by using Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), Percent of Normal Index (PNI) and the analyses of precipitation and temperature analysis.