Resumen

CAMPOS-ARANDA, Daniel Francisco. Comparison of PPD, SPI and RDI Indices to Classify Droughts: Zacatecas Weather Station, Mexico. Tecnol. cienc. agua [online]. 2015, vol.6, n.1, pp.183-193. ISSN 2007-2422.

Meteorological droughts are common and recurring events in a climate system and can occur in any region with varying degrees of severity, duration and geographic coverage. Its principal characteristic is a decrease in rainfall from normal or average levels. Therefore, the various procedures available to detect and monitor droughts are generally based on available monthly precipitation records. The present work presents the operating procedures for three methods used to classify droughts by severity (light, moderate, severe and extreme). These methods include the probabilistic precipitation deficit (PPD), standardized precipitation index (SPI) and the reconnaissance of drought index (RDI), which also includes monthly potential evapotranspiration. These indices are applied to the available monthly rainfall registry from the Zacatecas weather station located in the capital of the state of Zacatecas, Mexico. It contains 83 years of records from January 1930 to December 2012. The results are described and conclusions are presented, which suggest the joint application of these indices to complement and/or verify the classification of droughts obtained.

Palabras llave : Mixed Gamma distribution; monthly potential evapotranspiration; statistical tests of homogeneity; probabilistic models LP3; GEV and GLO; standard error of fit; severity and duration of droughts.