Multidecadal trend analysis of hydrological drought along River Niger using the Streamflow Drought Index

Droughts affect human well-being and the economy of countries across the world. Understanding the long-term evolution of droughts within a particular region will help in drought mitigation and adaptation plans, thereby reducing drought impact on the environment. This study examined the multidecadal trends in hydrological droughts at two stations along River Niger using 3-month, 6-month, and annual time scales. Hydrological drought events were identified using the streamflow drought index (SDI) between 1915 and 1990 based on the Theil-Sen slope and Mann-Kendall approaches. Across the timescales, extreme and severe droughts occurred in 1982/84 and 1983/84 with -2 ≤ S_d < -1.5. On an annual scale, the results from the annual SDI further showed that the 7th and 8th decades (1971−1990) recorded more drought events of varying degrees ranging from mild to extreme drought in both stations than in other decades. The last two decades (7th and 8th) further revealed the most extended hydrological drought duration from 1974/75 to 1988/89 for Baro and from 1979/80 to 1988/89 for Lokoja. The highest severity recorded at Baro was -15.56 and -14.26 at Lokoja. The prolonged duration of drought events across the stations and their associated yearly intensities suggests that more proactive measures are needed to ameliorate the hydrological drought impact in the study area.