Manifestations of the meteorological drought in Villa Clara province (Cuba) in the period 2000-2017

Abstract

The meteorological drought is an extreme phenomenon that is part of the natural climate variability. In this century, studies have shown that the drought processes in our country have become more frequent, intense and extensive, both temporally and spatially and their impact on populations and economies is important. The general objective of this paper is to evaluate the state of the meteorological drought in Villa Clara in the period 2000-2017. The state of the meteorological drought was also evaluated according to seasonal periods, dry (November-April) and rainy (May-October). The evolution of the current drought process 2014-2017 was characterized as well. Lastly, the precipitation trend between 1950 and 2017 and the synoptic processes associated with them were analyzed. To this end, the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and the Man-Kendall Test were used for the monthly and seasonal precipitation series. The main results obtained showed that in the province there were 11 seasonal periods with drought, 4 in the rainy period and 7 in the drier season. Additionally, the driest rainy season in the province was recorded in May-October of 2004, while the driest dry season was between November of 2004 and April of 2005. The rainfall trend shows that the greatest decreases are concentrated in the bimester May-June; the rainiest season of the year is associated with the increase in the influence of high pressure.

Keywords

• sequía meteorológica
• índice de precipitación estandarizada
• tendencia
• villa clara
• cuba