Update of the climate classification and climate water balance in the state of Maranhão

Abstract

Knowledge of the climate and quantification of the water balance of a place or region are extremely important for planning production in agriculture, livestock, management of water resources, dimensioning of urban and rural works, in addition to its application in geographic understanding and ecological. This work aims to update the climate classification and climatological water balance in the State of Maranhão using the Köppen and Thornthwaite climate classification methods and the water balance proposed by Thornthwaite & Mather based on data from time series of air temperature and monthly average rainfall. of INMET's network of meteorological stations, adopting a soil water storage capacity (CAD) of 100 mm. Based on the Köppen climate classification, three climate types were determined for the State of Maranhão, these being Aw, Aw’ and Am, with the first two characterized as tropical savannah climate and the third as tropical monsoon climate. According to the Thornthwaite climate classification, the climate types determined were C1dA'a', C1sA'a', C1wA'a', C1w2A'a', C2wA'a', C2w2A'a' and B1wA'a'. The northern region of the state is wetter compared to the others, with annual rainfall values exceeding 2,200 mm.