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ARTICLE IN Volume 19, 2024 - Number 2

ASSESSMENT OF THE SEVERITY OF METEOROLOGICAL DROUGHT IN THE REGION OF AL HOCEIMA, MOROCCO, USING PRECIPITATION TRENDS AND THE SPI



Ahmed ZIAN1*, Lahcen BENAABIDATE2, Khadija HABOUBI3, Mohammed Mouad MLIYEH4, & Adam MILEWSKI5
1Department of Civil Engineering, Energy and Environment (GCEE), National School of Applied Sciences of Al Hoceima (ENSAH), Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Po Box 03, Ajdir, AL hoceima, Morocco. E-mail: a.zian@uae.ac.ma
2Department of Environment, Faculty of Sciences and Techniques, LFGE, Po Box 2202 – Route d’Imouzzer, University of Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah, Fez, Morocco. E-mail: lahcen.benaabidate@usmba ac.ma
3Department of Civil Engineering, Energy and Environment (GCEE), National School of Applied Sciences of Al Hoceima (ENSAH), Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Po Box 03, Ajdir, AL hoceima, Morocco. E-mail: k.haboubi@uae.ac.ma
4Department of Environment, Faculty of Sciences and Techniques, LFGE, Po Box 2202 – Route d’Imouzzer, University of Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah, Fez, Morocco. E-mail: Mohammedmouad.mliyeh@usmba ac.ma
5Department of Geology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602. E-mail:milewski@uga.edu
*Correspondence: a.zian@uae.ac.ma https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0748-0751


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Abstract

The meteorological drought is a devastating phenomenon with far reaching social and economic effects. The study of drought is important for the sustainable management of water resources which are becoming depleted. This study looks at drought in Al Hoceima province of northern Morocco, using analysis of precipitation trends and the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) with a simple linear regression followed by an assessment of severity. Meteorological information from five stations in the Al Hoceima region from 1975-2016 were used. According to the results, the 80s are the most affected by the drought. The occasional examination of precipitation has shown that trends in all seasons, precipitation series are expanding. More than 74% of the observation years considered experienced a severe meteorological drought. The southern part of the province has been relatively less dry compared to the central and northern. The maximum severity of the drought was seven consecutive years recorded at the Al Hoceima station, at 74% from October 1978 to November 1985. This drought trend requires intervention to minimize the impact as the earth continues to experience climate change.

Keywords:

  • drought
  • analysis
  • precipitation
  • Standardized
  • Precipitation
  • Index
  • linear
  • regression
  • parametric
  • analysis
  • Al
  • Hoceima
  • province
  • climate
  • change

How to cite

ASSESSMENT OF THE SEVERITY OF METEOROLOGICAL DROUGHT IN THE REGION OF AL HOCEIMA, MOROCCO, USING PRECIPITATION TRENDS AND THE SPI, Carpathian Journal of Earth and Environmental Sciences August 2024, Vol. 19, No. 2, p. 387 – 400; DOI:10.26471/cjees/2024/019/307

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