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GDO Standardized Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index ERA5, 3-month accumulation period (SPEI-3) (version 1.0.0)

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The 3-month Standardized Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI-3) is an indicator used to monitor meteorological drought based on precipitation and reference evapotransipration. Anomalies over 3-month accumulation periods. SPEI-3 serves as a proxy for medium-term impacts, such as reduced stream flow and reservoir storage. The input data for calculating the SPEI-3 is ERA5 precipitation and temperature reanalysis.

Contributors

EDO European and Global Drought Observatories

How to cite

European Commission, Joint Research Centre (2026): GDO Standardized Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index ERA5, 3-month accumulation period (SPEI-3) (version 1.0.0). [Dataset] doi: 10.2905/JRC.N2ZHXNR PID: http://data.europa.eu/89h/e3403941-2a44-41a0-9698-c1f7fe60e3c0

Keywords

CEMSCopernicusDroughtERA5European Drought ObservatoryEvapotranspirationGlobal Drought ObservatoryPrecipitationSPEI

Data access

Data Download Service URL
TIFF

TIFF – Tagged Image File Format – is a computer file format for storing raster graphics images, popular among graphic artists, the publishing industry and photographers. TIFF is widely supported by scanning, faxing, word processing, optical character recognition, image manipulation, desktop publishing and page-layout applications. The format was created by Aldus Corporation for use in desktop publishing.
Downloadable file

A downloadable file for the dataset.

Use conditions
European Commission reuse notice

According to the European Commission reuse notice, reuse is authorised, provided the source is acknowledged. The reuse policy of the European Commission is implemented by the Decision of 12 December 2011. The general principle of reuse can be subject to conditions which may be specified in individual copyright notices. Therefore users are advised to refer to the copyright notices of the individual websites maintained under Europa and of the individual documents. Reuse is not applicable to documents subject to intellectual property rights of third parties.

Access conditions
No limitations

Anybody can directly and anonymously access the data, without being required to register or authenticate.

Other resources

Standardized Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) Factsheet
PDF

PDF – Portable Document Format – is a file format developed to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware and operating systems. Based on the PostScript language, each PDF file encapsulates a complete description of a fixed-layout flat document, including the text, fonts, vector graphics, raster images and other information needed to display it. PDF was standardized as an open format and does not require any royalties for its implementation.

Use conditions
European Commission reuse notice

According to the European Commission reuse notice, reuse is authorised, provided the source is acknowledged. The reuse policy of the European Commission is implemented by the Decision of 12 December 2011. The general principle of reuse can be subject to conditions which may be specified in individual copyright notices. Therefore users are advised to refer to the copyright notices of the individual websites maintained under Europa and of the individual documents. Reuse is not applicable to documents subject to intellectual property rights of third parties.

Access conditions
No limitations

Anybody can directly and anonymously access the data, without being required to register or authenticate.

  • Factsheet

Publications

Publication
A Multi-scalar drought index sensitive to global warming: The Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index - SPEI
Vicente-Serrano S.M., Santiago Beguería, Juan I. López-Moreno, (2010) A Multi-scalar drought index sensitive to global warming: The Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index - SPEI. Journal of Climate 23: 1696-1718.

Spatial coverage

Temporal coverage

From date To date
1991-01-01 N/A

Additional information

Published by
European Commission, Joint Research Centre
Contact email
JRC-EMS-DROUGHT (at) ec.europa.eu
Update frequency
three times a month

The event occurs three times a month.

Language(s)
English

English is a member of the West Germanic group of the Germanic languages. It is an official language of almost 60 sovereign states and is now a global lingua franca.It is the third-most-common native language in the world and it is widely learned as a second language.

Data theme(s)
Environment

dataset theme covering the domain of environment, defined as the interaction of all living species, climate, weather, and natural resources that impact human survival and economic activity

Geographical name(s)
World
Issued date
2025-03-24
Created date
24 Mar 2025 14:56
Modified date
17 Jul 2025 15:12
Landing page
https://drought.emergency.copernicus.eu/ 
Dataset identifier
http://data.europa.eu/89h/e3403941-2a44-41a0-9698-c1f7fe60e3c0
Other identifiers
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