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In the first part of the study, an overview of the precipitation regime of the island of Cyprus is presented, describing the spatial and temporal distribution of this element over the island. The basic data which are used in this analysis are the monthly area average precipitation for the whole island, which is estimated from the records obtained from all rainfall stations using GIS techniques. Regional drought assessment is conventionally based on drought indices for the identification of drought intensity, duration and its areal extent. Therefore, in the second part of the study, a regional drought assessment is attempted, by calculating two well known indices, namely, the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and the Reconnaissance Drought Index (RDI) which are based on historical monthly precipitation and temperature data. Both indices respond in a similar fashion and can be used effectively to analyze drought …