Effect of extreme El Niño events on the precipitation of Ecuador

Thielen, Dirk R.; Ramoni-Perazzi, Paolo; Zamora-Ledezma, Ezequiel; Puche, Mary L.; Marquez, Marco; Quintero, José I.; Rojas, Wilmer; Quintero, Alberto; Bianchi, Guillermo; Soto-Werschitz, Irma A.; Arizapana-Almonacid, Marco Aurelio

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-1507-2023

Articles | Volume 23, issue 4

https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-1507-2023

© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-1507-2023

© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 23, issue 4

Research article

|

24 Apr 2023

Research article |

| 24 Apr 2023

Effect of extreme El Niño events on the precipitation of Ecuador

Dirk R. Thielen, Paolo Ramoni-Perazzi, Ezequiel Zamora-Ledezma, Mary L. Puche, Marco Marquez, José I. Quintero, Wilmer Rojas, Alberto Quintero, Guillermo Bianchi, Irma A. Soto-Werschitz, and Marco Aurelio Arizapana-Almonacid

Data sets

A quasi-global precipitation time series for drought monitoring (https://iridl.ldeo.columbia.edu/SOURCES/.UCSB/.CHIRPS/.v2p0/.monthly/.global/) C. C. Funk, P. J. Peterson, M. F. Landsfeld, D. H. Pedreros, J. P. Verdin, J. D. Rowland, B. E. Romero, G. J. Husak, J. C. Michaelsen, and A. P. Verdin https://doi.org/10.3133/ds832

NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission Global 1 arc second NASA JPL https://doi.org/10.5067/MEaSUREs/SRTM/SRTMGL1.003

Monthly Atmospheric and SST Indices Climate Prediction Center/NCEP/NWS/NOAA https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/data/indices/

Short summary

Extreme El Niño events are unique in their strong impacts and differ from other El Niños. In Ecuador, extreme eastern Pacific El Niño and coastal El Niño generate dangerous precipitation anomalies, particularly in areas with a high natural seasonality index, steep terrain, and a close proximity to the coast. These findings can help develop effective strategies to reduce vulnerability to potential increases in extreme El Niño frequency and intensity.