Evidence of climate change in the hyper-arid region of the southern coast of Peru, head of the Atacama Desert

Abstract

The effect of climate change in this region is considered as one of the driest in the world, according to the evidence found and recorded, may be favorable or unfavorable for water availability. In this work, we seek to evaluate and validate the evidence of climate change such as droughts and floods that are occurring in the southern region of Peru and northern Chile called the headwaters of the Atacama Desert. The analysis of the interrelationships and climate trends was carried out, to demonstrate conditions of climate change about the occurrence of alluviums. In recent years, extraordinary precipitation events have occurred that have generated surface storage, vegetation growth, and alluvial surface flows in areas where they were not normal. The return periods of said extraordinary events were calculated. Likewise, la mancha caliente (“the hot blob”) ―detected by NOAA― brought with it, temperature anomalies between 4 and 6 ° C, and has a high probability of being the agent causing local rainfall in the study area. We consider these events as evidence of climate change; the normal conditions have been altered and the damage is irrefutable, it must be specified, for example, that a large part of the road infrastructure, services, buildings, etc., are not designed to take these conditions into account current climate, therefore, it is necessary to establish the safety regulations and adaptation of buildings to these new conditions that are being presented.