Teak tree-ring based drought reconstruction in southern Myanmar

We developed three tree ring-width chronologies of Tectona grandis (teak) from southern Myanmar. Site chronologies of teak are negatively related to temperature variations but positively related to precipitation and the self-calibrated Palmer drought severity index (scPDSI). A regional composite chronology showed the highest correlation with scPDSI during the dry season (November–April) (r = 0.682, p < 0.000). Thus, we reconstructed dry-season drought variability (scPDSI) for the period 1802–2016, which explained 46.5% variance of the actual scPDSI during the calibration period. Our reconstruction showed that southern Myanmar was under moderate drought conditions during the dry season, with below-normal scPDSI values along with the intensification of drought in recent years.