Drought is among the costliest natural disasters that affect the economy, food and water security, and socioeconomic well‐being of about 1.4 billion people in India. Despite the profound implications of droughts, the propagation of meteorological to hydrological droughts in India is not examined. Here, we use observations and simulations from a well‐calibrated and evaluated Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) model to estimate drought propagation in India. Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), Standardized Soil Moisture Index (SSMI), and Standardized Streamflow Index (SSI) were estimated for 223 catchments in India to represent meteorological, agricultural, and hydrological droughts, respectively. We estimated drought propagation time for these catchments located in 18 major Indian subcontinental river basins. Internal propagation of hydrological drought was estimated using optimal hydrological Instantaneous Development Speed (IDS) and Instantaneous Recovery Speed (IRS) from onset to the termination. Indus, Sabarmati, and Godavari river basins have higher propagation time of meteorological to hydrological droughts. The high (low) development rate of hydrological drought is followed by the high (low) recovery rate for most of the locations. We find significant influence of Seasonality Index (SI) and Base Flow Index (BFI) on propagation time of meteorological to hydrological droughts in the Indian subcontinental river basins. Overall, understanding of drought propagation, development/recovery speed, and their deriving factors can assist in the management and planning of water resources in India.

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印度气象向水文干旱的传播

干旱是影响印度经济，粮食和水安全以及约14亿人口社会经济福祉的代价最高的自然灾害之一。尽管干旱产生了深远的影响，但并未研究气象干旱到水文干旱的传播。在这里，我们使用经过良好校准和评估的可变渗透能力（VIC）模型的观察和模拟来估算印度的干旱传播。估计印度223个集水区的标准降水指数（SPI），标准土壤湿度指数（SSMI）和标准流量指数（SSI）分别代表气象干旱，农业干旱和水文干旱。我们估算了位于印度次大陆18个主要流域的这些流域的干旱传播时间。从开始到结束，使用最佳水文瞬时发展速度（IDS）和瞬时恢复速度（IRS）估算水文干旱的内部传播。印度河流域，萨巴马蒂河流域和戈达瓦里河流域具有从气象学到水文干旱的更长的传播时间。在大多数地区，水文干旱的高（低）发展速度之后是高（低）恢复速度。我们发现季节性指数（SI）和基流指数（BFI）对印度次大陆河流域气象干旱到水文干旱的传播时间有重大影响。总体而言，了解干旱的蔓延，发展/恢复速度及其派生因素可有助于印度水资源的管理和规划。