Comparison of extreme weather events and streamflow from drought indices and a hydrological model in River Malaba, Eastern Uganda
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Date
2013
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
International Journal of Environmental Studies
Abstract
The study examined the applicability of the Combined Drought Index (CDI), Standardized Precipitation
Index (SPI) and IHACRES (identification of unit hydrographs and component flows from
rainfall, evaporation and streamflow data) model in characterizing extreme weather events in relation
to streamflow variations of the River Malaba. The results showed that the extreme weather
events return period had reduced from 4–10 to 1–3 years over the catchment. The CDI was a better
predictor of drought events (2005–2006) than the SPI, which was better for flood events (2006,
1997 and 2008) in the catchment. The performance of the IHACRES model with a Nash–Sutcliffe
efficiency of 0.89 comparatively corresponded with the results obtained from the SPI and CDI
drought indices especially during recorded events of severe drought (2005) and flood (1997). These
results coincided with the La-Nina events that were recorded over the catchment and Uganda at
large.
Description
Keywords
CDI, SPI, IHACRES, Streamflow, Floods, Drought
Citation
Barasa Bernard, Kakembo Vincent, Mugagga Frank & Egeru Anthony (2013) Comparison of extreme weather events and streamflow from drought indices and a hydrological model in River Malaba, Eastern Uganda, International Journal of Environmental Studies, 70:6, 940-951, DOI: 10.1080/00207233.2013.862463