Background and Objective: Today, decision-makers in dealing with drought consider the integrated management approach of crisis management and risk management simultaneously. So far, Golestan province has suffered a lot of damage from drought risk.

Method: In order to determine the meteorological drought status, the Standard Precipitation Index (SPI) was used in this study. First, monthly rainfall statistics from 15 selected meteorological stations in the region were collected and tested for accuracy, precision, and homogeneity of the data during the common period of 2000-2020. For each of the stations in question, the percentage frequency factor of meteorological droughts was determined on an annual time scale. Then, the Drought Hazard Index (DHI) was extracted by assigning weights and degrees to each of the different intensities. Also, the vulnerability of meteorological drought was calculated using physical and socio-economic indicators, and then the vulnerable zones of drought were determined. Finally, based on the two factors of drought risk susceptibility and vulnerability, the risk or damage of drought was calculated, and then the vulnerable zones of meteorological drought were determined.

Findings: The results of the study on drought conditions showed that the most severe droughts occurred in the region in 2005, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017. Based on the drought risk index, the results showed that the northrn part of the region and its central part, with an area equivalent to 16 percent in the SPI index, 37 percent in the VCI (Vegetation Condition Index) and 20 percent in the VHI (Vegetation Health Index) indices, and 22 percent in the TCI(Temperature Condition Index) index, of the area of Golestan province, are susceptible to very high risk of meteorological drought.

Discussion and Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that the risks and vulnerabilities caused by meteorological drought seriously threaten Golestan province