Evaluation of the climatic variability in the Chillanes canton through the parameters of precipitation and temperature

Abstract

Introduction: Climate variability in recent decades has intensified in the South American region, making it imperative to explore adequate adaptation and mitigation strategies to offset its current and future adverse impacts. Objective: To evaluate the climatic variability in the Chillanes canton located in the Hoya del Chimbo, Bolívar province, Ecuador, through the parameters of precipitation and temperature. Methodology: We used data extracted from monthly meteorological series of precipitation and temperature from the Chillanes-M130 Climate Station of the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (CSNIMH), period 1989 – 2015. The series showed missing data that were completed using a univariate method of the difference criterion and later the climatic anomaly was verified by calculating the climatic anomalies of precipitation and temperature. Results: The analysis carried out in the 27 years did not show rainfall anomalies examined at 95% confidence with respect to the mean, therefore, it is considered a stable behavior despite the existence of natural phenomena of strong rainfall intensity such as the El Niño phenomenon in 1997. Conclusions: The temperature presented a positive anomaly that reveals that the annual average temperature is above the historical average recorded in the 27 years of study, showing an increase in temperature of 0.8 ° C, which indicates that with respect to the temperature there is a climatic variability in the place of study.