EVALUATION OF METEOROLOGICAL AND HYDROLOGICAL DROUGHT INDICES AND THEIR EFFECT ON HYDROELECTRIC POWER PLANTS.

Climate change is a challenge for humanity. Meteorological drought is a climatic anomaly that is caused by a significant decrease in the amount of precipitation below normal averages, which affects the intakes of water supply systems and ecosystems. It can be evaluated through indices such as the Standardized Precipitation Index, Palmer Drought Severity Index, and Standardized Evaporation and Precipitation Index, among others. Hydrological droughts are a consequence of meteorological droughts and anthropogenic changes, which have a duration of about the time of concentration of the basins and can be measured through the Standardized Runoff Index. Drought indices in combination with mathematical models and models for future estimations can be used to provide tools for decision-making in general water resources management and specifically influence the establishment of operation policies for hydroelectric plants as important agents for the regulation of maximum and minimum flows in rivers. This research presents the analysis of drought indices for different regions of the world with rivers of controlled and uncontrolled flows by power plants, evaluating the incidence of droughts in the production of clean energy and water supply and their impact on ecosystems. From the current review, it has been observed that, in the dry periods evaluated in different regions of the world, the different drought indices have shown that in recent years, there has been an increase in the severity of droughts, where there has been a considerable decrease in rainfall and hydrological flows for the years evaluated, leading to greater difficulties in the impacted regions in terms of the provision and delivery of water for people, agricultural production, and the production of sustainable energies.