Meteorological Droughts in the Paraopeba River Basin: Current Scenarios and Future Projections

Meteorological droughts have been occurring with greater frequency and intensity, impacting water security in various regions. Between 2013 and 2015, the Paraopeba River Basin in southeast Brazil experienced its most severe drought in the last 70 years, resulting in low levels in the Paraopeba system reservoirs, which supplies 53% of the Metropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte, the third largest metropolitan area in Brazil. This study evaluated the climate models’ performance from the NEX-GDDP-CMIP6 through drought indices projections, specifically the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI). The results showed that seven climate models can represent the current climate in the basin. For the drought’s projection, the indices were used in two time scales (six and twelve months) for both the current climate and two future scenarios (SSP245 and SSP585). Our results highlight the intensification of droughts throughout the twenty-first century, with greater intensification in the SSP585 scenario. The SPEI indicated trends towards drier conditions, particularly under the SSP585 scenario and on the twelve-month timescale. These findings demonstrate the relevance of climate change and drought indices on the projections, supporting public policies for mitigation and adaptation, especially in strategic regions for water supply and hydro-electric generation.