Abstract: According to the daily observation data of meteorological stations in the Hanjiang river ecological economic region from 1964 to 2013, we analyzed the trends, spatial changes, abrupt changes and cycles of dry-wet climate factors through climate inclination rate, Kriging interpolation, M-K mutation test, and wavelet analysis. Results suggest that the study region generally experienced a change from wet to dry. Annual precipitation, potential evapotranspiration, dry-wet index and water deficit all displayed a linear downward trend, with their sudden changes happened in 2005, 1972, 2006, and 2005, respectively. The dry-wet cycle is 5-year, 15-year and 25-year in time scale. Moreover, the study region can be roughly divided into humid and semi-humid regions, and each dry-wet climate factor presents a trend of “small in mountainous area and large in plain area” in space, which gradually becomes dry along the Hanjiang river from the southeast to the northwest. In conclusion, the dry-wet climate in the Hanjiang river basin is relatively complex and has gradually become dry. We should pay necessary attention to it and take scientific and feasible drought-resisting measures in response to dry-wet climate change.

Key words: Hanjiang river ecological economic region, wet-dry climate, spatio-temporal changes, interannual variation, abrupt change, drought relief and disaster reduction