Author(s)

Bérenger Koffi^1,2*, Zilé Alex Kouadio¹, Kouakou Hervé Kouassi¹, Affoué Berthe Yao¹, Martin Sanchez², Kouakou Lazare Kouassi¹

¹Laboratory of Science and Technology of Environment, Jean Lorougnon Guédé University, Daloa, Côte d’Ivoire.
²Laboratory of Planetology and Geodynamics (LPG), University of Nantes, Faculty of Science and Technology, Nantes, France.

The management of water resources in watersheds has become increasingly difficult in recent years due to the frequency and intensity of drought sequences. The Lobo River catchment, like most tropical regions, has experienced alternating wet and dry periods. These drought periods have a significant impact on the availability of water resources in the basin. The objective of this study is to analyse the impact of meteorological drought on flows in the Lobo River catchment. Therefore, using the Normalized Precipitation and Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) and the Drought Flow Index (SDI), the characteristics of droughts were studied. The results of this study show that meteorological droughts were more frequent than hydrological droughts in the Lobo River watershed. However, the hydrological drought was longer and more intense than the meteorological drought. The greater relationship between meteorological and hydrological drought was observed at the Daloa and Vavoua station (0.43 < r < 0.50) compared to the Zuenoula station (r < 0.5). In addition, there was a resumption of precipitation and runoff between 2007 and 2013 in the basin. The study of these climatic trends would be very useful in the choice of management and adaptation policies for water resources management.

Rainfall, Normalized Index, Meteorological Drought, Hydrological Drought, Lobo River

Koffi, B. , Kouadio, Z. , Kouassi, K. , Yao, A. , Sanchez, M. and Kouassi, K. (2020) Impact of Meteorological Drought on Streamflows in the Lobo River Catchment at Nibéhibé, Côte d’Ivoire. Journal of Water Resource and Protection, 12, 495-511. doi: 10.4236/jwarp.2020.126030.