Abstract:In order to explore the characteristics of the propagation process of meteorological drought to hydrological drought in karst region, the SPI and SRI standardization indexes were used to identify regional drought, and methods of cross wavelet, wavelet coherence and state transition probability were used to explore the drought propagation characteristics such as propagation intensity and response rate. The results showed that: (1) The duration of meteorological drought and hydrological drought in the 60 s and 70 s of the last century was shorter, while the regional droughts in the 80 s of the last century and the early 21st century lasted longer. There was a significant positive correlation between SPI and SRI, and the process of meteorological drought tended to hydrological drought took 1.5 months. (2) The transmission intensity of drought DPI in the karst area was greater than 1 and the response rate was relatively high. Hydrological drought was extremely sensitive to the occurrence of meteorological drought, especially in areas where the cutting depth of the surface was relatively shallow and the karst development was relatively strong. (3) The propagation process was mainly affected by the cutting depth of the surface. The influence degree of each underlying surface condition to the drought propagation process was sequenced as surface cutting depth> karst development intensity> elevation> topography and landforms, among them the characteristics of drought propagation was significantly negatively correlated with the depth of surface cutting, and positively correlated with the intensity of karst development, elevation, and topography. In the areas with shallow cut, medium cut, or low altitude and strong karst development, the transfer of DPI and Rr between each grade was more active. On the whole, the propagation characteristics showed an increasing trend in 57 years. The results could provide a theoretical basis for drought prevention and monitoring in karst areas, especially for the sustainable development planning of ecologically fragile areas.