Temporal Variation of Reference Evapotranspiration (ET_0) in Southeastern Anatolia Region and Meteorological Drought Analysis through RDI (Reconnaissance Drought Index) Method

Analysis of temporal variation of reference evapotranspiration (ET_0) is important in arid and semi-arid regions where water resources are limited. In this study, temporal variation of reference evapotranspiration (ET_0) and meteorological drought analysis through RDI (Reconnaissance Drought Index) method have been carried out in provinces of Southeastern Anatolia Region. Reference evapotranspiration of concerning provinces in the region has been estimated using Penman-Monteith method and one calendar year has been split up four periods as k1, k2, k3 and k4. Temporal variation of reference evapotranspiration according to four periods has been analyzed through parametric Dickey-Fuller test and non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test. As a result, significant increasing trends for reference evapotranspiration have been detected and according to RDI method used for estimating meteorological drought in provinces, mild drought has been experienced in general, and however there have been also a significant amount of events where moderate and severely droughts occurred.