Résumé:
Globally, drought is one of the most important natural disasters affecting ecosystems,
agricultural output, and socioeconomic stability. The purpose of this study is to use the
Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) to assess temporal dynamics of drought in the Coastal
Constantine Basin in northeastern Algeria. This study evaluates drought severity and events at
multiple time scales (1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months) using precipitation data from twelve
meteorological stations gathered during a 54-year period (1960–2014). Significant differences
in annual precipitation are seen throughout the basin, according to the results, suggesting that
some regions experience recurrent and ongoing droughts. In this situation, the SPI has shown
itself to be a reliable and flexible instrument for drought monitoring, enabling the detection of
both extended hydrological and agricultural droughts as well as short-term meteorological
droughts. The results highlight how urgent it is to improve adaptive water resource management
techniques and put localized drought mitigation policies into action, particularly in light of
climate change estimates for the Mediterranean region.
