(iii) Can be adapted to specific needs for impact assessment. For example, its variable time scales are useful for modeling a wide range of meteorological, agricultural and hydrological applications. The temporal nature of the index facilitates understanding of drought dynamics, such as onset and cessation, which is difficult to track with other indices. (iv) The standardized nature ensures that the frequency of extreme events at any location and on any time scale is consistent. In contrast, the application of SPI has few potential disadvantages: (i) the amount and reliability of data used to fit suitable probability distributions. (ii) Due to the standardized nature, the SPI is unable to identify regions that are more “drought-prone” than others, and (iii) Employ the SPI on shorter time scales (such as 1, 2 and 3 months) in regions with low seasonal precipitation, resulting in incorrect positive or negative SPI