Spatiotemporal Features of Drought Conditions: A Case Study in an Equatorial Andean Basin Using the Spei Index (1982-2015)

Drought is one of the extreme phenomena facing the world, which can harm the socioeconomic activities of the population and ecological balance. This study aims to perform a spatiotemporal analysis of droughts within the Machángara sub-basin (Ecuadorian Southern Andes) by the drought index SPEI, using meteorological records in the period 1982-2015. Results indicate that the sub-basin has experienced moderate and severe droughts and less frequent extreme droughts, being the month of August the most frequent period of this phenomenon. The spatial and temporal analysis determined that the study area experiences a more significant number of droughts while increasing the decades, with an extension in the whole territory of the sub-basin. These results could be a source of information for the decision-making of water managers regarding the formulation of measures of preparation and mitigation to fewer impacts of droughts on the population.