RETRACTED ARTICLE: Investigating the effects of drought on the environment in northwestern province of Iran, Ardabil, using combined indices, Iran

Drought is a spreading phenomenon, and it has caused a lot of damages in different parts of the country in recent years. Therefore, we evaluated and monitored the drought and its indicators in this study. We used rainfall and temperature data [in a period 26 years (1993–2018)] from five synoptic stations of Ardabil province obtained from the Meteorological Organization, and then, the droughts of this province were investigated using the four indices of CZI, SPI, ZSI and MCZI in DIP software. The results showed that very severity droughts at 12-month scale occurred lower than the 6-month scale, and, the medium droughts were more than severe and very severe droughts in the 5 stations. The severity of the drought was more at the 12-month scale than the 6-month scale in the TOPSIS model, but the VIKOR model showed more severe drought at 6-month scale than the 12-month scale. Therefore, we can prevent the critical consequences of the drought and probable problems in different parts such as meteorology, agriculture, and water basins with precise and efficient schedules for the stations that are more exposed to drought.