Deficit and surplus of precipitation as a continuous function of time

The quantitative measure of drought is a complex problem. A common factor in all types of drought is that they originate from a deficiency of precipitation. The difference between the real and potentially expected daily precipitation amount is what we have used to define the continuous function of daily deficit and surplus of precipitation (DSP). We have also defined the monthly and yearly DSP. We tested the precipitation data series for the normal climatic period 1961–1990 observed at the Meteorological Observatory of Belgrade. The DSP considers that the intensity of drought during the current period is dependent upon the current precipitation plus the cumulative precipitation of the previous period. When applied to longer periods, this function denotes dry and wet periods.