CARiDRO The Caribbean Assessment Regional DROught Tool

This case study describes the development and functionality of the Caribbean Assessment Regional DROught Tool (CARiDRO), a web-based application designed to facilitate drought assessment at regional and grid-point levels for the Caribbean and Central America regions using both observed and modelled datasets.

• The CARiDRO tool enables the assessment of drought events using two primary indices: the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), which is widely used for monitoring drought, and the Standardized Precipitation-Evaporation Index (SPEI), which is specifically designed to evaluate the impact of climate change and warming based on water balance.
• The tool integrates seven experiments from the PRECIS regional climate model (RCM) with a 25km resolution covering 1961 to 2070, as well as two observed gridded datasets from the University of Delaware and the Climatic Research Unit with a 50km resolution covering 1901 to 2009.
• CARiDRO is built using a combination of Climate Data Operators (CDO), GrADS, and Fortran codes, with GrADS scripts specifically developed by the INSMET team to mirror the products used in Cuba's Drought Monitoring System.
• While the tool can generate products for use in Geographical Information Systems to analyze impacts on water resources and agriculture, it is currently intended for users with a technical background in climatology or meteorology rather than general stakeholders.

APA

Centella, A., Bezanilla, A., Vichot, A., & Silva, M. (n.d.). CARiDRO The Caribbean Assessment Regional DROught Tool. Climate and Development Knowledge Network. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Cariwig-case-study-final-report-caridro-drought.pdf

Chicago

Centella, Abel, Arnoldo Bezanilla, Alejandro Vichot, and Malena Silva. CARiDRO The Caribbean Assessment Regional DROught Tool. Climate and Development Knowledge Network, n.d. http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Cariwig-case-study-final-report-caridro-drought.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Centella |first1=Abel |last2=Bezanilla |first2=Arnoldo |last3=Vichot |first3=Alejandro |last4=Silva |first4=Malena |title=CARiDRO The Caribbean Assessment Regional DROught Tool |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |url=http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Cariwig-case-study-final-report-caridro-drought.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centellandcaridro, author = {Centella, Abel and Bezanilla, Arnoldo and Vichot, Alejandro and Silva, Malena}, title = {{CARiDRO The Caribbean Assessment Regional DROught Tool}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, url = {http://cdkn.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Cariwig-case-study-final-report-caridro-drought.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }