Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI)
Index name: Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI).
Ease of use: Yellow.
Origins: Developed by Vicente-Serrano et al. at the Instituto Pirenaico de Ecologia in Zaragoza, Spain.
Characteristics: As a relatively new drought index, SPEI uses the basis of SPI but includes a temperature component, allowing the index to account for the effect of temperature on drought development through a basic water balance calculation. SPEI has an intensity scale in which both positive and negative values are calculated, identifying wet and dry events. It can be calculated for time steps of as little as 1 month up to 48 months or more. Monthly updates allow it to be used operationally, and the longer the time series of data available, the more robust the results will be.
Input parameters: Monthly precipitation and temperature data. A serially complete record of data is required with no missing months.
Applications: With the same versatility as that of SPI, SPEI can be used to identify and monitor conditions associated with a variety of drought impacts.
Strengths: The inclusion of temperature along with precipitation data allows SPEI to account for the impact of temperature on a drought situation. The output is applicable for all climate regimes, with the results being comparable because they are standardized. With the use of temperature data, SPEI is an ideal index when looking at the impact of climate change in model output under various future scenarios.
Weaknesses: The requirement for a serially complete dataset for both temperature and precipitation may limit its use due to insufficient data being available. Being a monthly index, rapidly developing drought situations may not be identified quickly.
Resources: SPEI code is freely available at the SPEI website by the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) and the calculations are also described in the literature. Additional resources are available at the Flood and Drought portal developed by GEF, UN Environment, IWA and DHI.
Reference: Vicente-Serrano, S.M., S. Begueria and J.I. Lopez-Moreno, 2010: A multi-scalar drought index sensitive to global warming: the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index. Journal of Climate, 23: 1696–1718. DOI: 10.1175/2009JCLI2909.1.
Currently used by: Peru, Switzerland.