Recent trends and ENSO influence on droughts in northern Chile: an application of the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index

This research paper applies the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) to analyze drought trends and the influence of the El Niño phenomenon in the Coquimbo region of Chile, finding increasing dryness during spring and summer.

• Analysis of the Coquimbo region indicates that dry events occur frequently, with negative trends—indicating increasing dryness—observed in most analyzed stations during the spring and summer seasons.
• Significant trends for SPEI values are approximately -0.05 yr-1, with an increase in both the occurrence of dry conditions of various magnitudes and the duration of extreme climatic events over recent decades.
• The observed trends in drought frequency and duration align with future climatic projections and pose significant challenges for the operation of reservoirs and the management of water resources.

APA

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (2025). Recent trends and ENSO influence on droughts in northern Chile: an application of the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index. https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/recent-trends-and-enso-influence-on-droughts-in-northern-chile-an-application-of-the-standardized-precipitation-evapotranspiration-index/

Chicago

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. Recent trends and ENSO influence on droughts in northern Chile: an application of the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index. 2025. https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/recent-trends-and-enso-influence-on-droughts-in-northern-chile-an-application-of-the-standardized-precipitation-evapotranspiration-index/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |title=Recent trends and ENSO influence on droughts in northern Chile: an application of the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index |date=17 January 2025 |url=https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/recent-trends-and-enso-influence-on-droughts-in-northern-chile-an-application-of-the-standardized-precipitation-evapotranspiration-index/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{interamericaninstituteforglobalchangeresearch2025recent, author = {{Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}}, title = {{Recent trends and ENSO influence on droughts in northern Chile: an application of the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, year = {2025}, month = jan, url = {https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/recent-trends-and-enso-influence-on-droughts-in-northern-chile-an-application-of-the-standardized-precipitation-evapotranspiration-index/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }