Climatological spatial scales of meteorological droughts in China and associated climate variability

•The climatological spatial scales (CSSs) of meteorological droughts are investigated.•The CSSs of multi-timescale droughts in China are determined and attributed.•The CSSs generally show a significant decrease with increasing timescale.•The five climate anomalies have significant impacts on the multi-scale CSSs.•The climate anomalies and the CSSs show complex spatiotemporal interaction effects.