The Kerio Valley basin in Kenya has undergone several periods of drought, yet drought patterns in the region are not well understood due to limited climatic data. Drought events in the region have resulted in crop failure and livestock deaths, exacerbating food shortages. In this study, the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI), a multi‐scalar drought index was used to examine the onset, duration, severity, intensity, and frequency of agricultural and hydrological drought in the region. The gridded 0.5° × 0.5° climatic datasets from Climatic Research Unit for the period 1960−2016 was used for analysis. Temporal evolutions of SPEI at 6‐ and 12‐month lags were subsequently used to evaluate agricultural and hydrological drought, respectively. Additionally, the Mann‐Kendall trend test was used to test for trends in the time series. Results from the analysis show that: 1) droughts are becoming more frequent in the region, 2) drought intensities in the arid and semi‐arid lands have weakened, 3) regions west of the Kerio River have recently recorded a wetting trend, and 4) the southern and central regions of the basin are drought‐prone. Understanding the spatial and temporal patterns of drought in the basin can assist in drought preparation and mitigation planning.

中文翻译：

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使用标准降水蒸发蒸腾指数：1960-2016，描述肯尼亚Kerio谷盆地的干旱特征

肯尼亚的Kerio谷盆地经历了数个干旱时期，但由于气候数据有限，该地区的干旱模式尚未得到很好的理解。该地区的干旱事件导致农作物歉收和牲畜死亡，加剧了粮食短缺。在这项研究中，使用标准降水蒸发蒸腾指数（SPEI）（多尺度干旱指数）来检查该地区农业和水文干旱的发生，持续时间，严重程度，强度和频率。使用来自气候研究部门1960-2016年的0.5°×0.5°栅格化气候数据集进行分析。随后分别将SPEI在6个月和12个月的滞后时间演变用于评估农业干旱和水文干旱。此外，Mann-Kendall趋势检验用于测试时间序列中的趋势。分析结果表明：1）该地区的干旱越来越频繁； 2）干旱和半干旱地区的干旱强度减弱； 3）Kerio河以西地区最近出现了湿润趋势，以及4 ）盆地的南部和中部地区容易干旱。了解流域干旱的时空格局可以帮助干旱准备和减灾计划。