Dry Periods in the State of Paraná, Brazil

Abstract

The spatial, temporal and quantitative characterization of dry periods can minimize the losses in agriculture, since the drought mapping is an important tool to evaluate impacts and propose alternatives of adaptation and mitigation of their effects. The purpose of this work is to map and analyze some aspects of the dry periods occurred in the state of Paraná, Brazil. It is observed that episodes of dry periods decrease as their duration increases. In Paraná the number of dry periods decreases as the latitude of the state increases. The highest number of dry periods occurs in the colder months in Paraná (May to August). Severe and moderate droughts occur more frequently in the La Niña condition, while the weaker ones are recorded in El Niño. There is no tendency to increase or reduce dry periods in the different regions of Paraná.

Keywords:
dry; agriculture; ENSO phenomenon; climate trend