A realistic evaluation of drought onset is inevitable for the effective implementation of mitigation strategies. Meteorological droughts indicating the onset of drought propagation are usually quantified through unbiased indices that consider the month-wise magnitude variations in historical climatic variables, while completely ignoring their intramonthly distributions. However, the applicability of such indices under the present scenario of changing climate, where intense short wet spells are reportedly increasing, is questionable. Such changes in the wet spells could eventually lead to prolonged intramonthly dry spells, which in turn will pose many agricultural and socioeconomic risks. To monitor the changed scenario realistically, we propose a new drought index—the Standardized Net-Precipitation Distribution Index (SNEPI), which incorporates the distribution characteristics of the daily net-precipitation variable. The applicability of SNEPI is critically evaluated using synthetically generated and observed precipitation series over six diverse climatic locations of India, at 1-, 3-, 6-, and 12-month time scales. The utility of SNEPI is more profound for longer time scales, understandably due to the enhanced emphasis imparted on the distribution of rainfall spells by the longer periods. Standardized Net-Precipitation Distribution Index proves to be efficient in capturing the present scenario of increasing dryness (wetness) in wet (dry) regions when compared with the traditional Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index. Hence, the proposed index, which incorporates the changing precipitation characteristics, may aid in better quantification and monitoring of meteorological drought under the scenario of changing climate.

中文翻译：

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一个稳健的干旱指数核算不断变化的降水特征

对干旱发生的现实评估对于有效实施减缓战略是不可避免的。表明干旱传播开始的气象干旱通常通过无偏指数进行量化，这些指数考虑了历史气候变量的逐月幅度变化，同时完全忽略了它们的月内分布。然而，这些指数在目前气候变化的情况下的适用性是有问题的，据报道，在这种情况下，强烈的短雨期正在增加。雨季的这种变化最终可能导致月内干旱期延长，这反过来又会带来许多农业和社会经济风险。为了现实地监测变化的情景，我们提出了一个新的干旱指数——标准化净降水分布指数 (SNEPI)，它结合了每日净降水变量的分布特征。在 1、3、6 和 12 个月的时间尺度上，使用合成生成和观察到的印度六个不同气候位置的降水系列对 SNEPI 的适用性进行了批判性评估。SNEPI 的效用在更长的时间尺度上更显着，这是可以理解的，因为更强调了更长时期的降雨分布。与传统的标准化降水蒸发蒸腾指数相比，标准化净降水分布指数证明在捕捉湿（干）地区干（湿）度增加的当前情景方面是有效的。因此，建议的指数，它结合了不断变化的降水特征，