Climatic Drought in the Hydraulic Basin of Oum Er Rbia, Morocco (1980–2021): Statistical and Cartographic Analysis

DroughtsHydraulic basin of Oum Er Rbia have long been a structural feature of Morocco’sMorocco climate. Several sequences of drought have hit the country, with adverse environmental and economic consequences. Today, Morocco is experiencing the impactsImpacts of climate changeClimate change, generally manifested in rising temperatures and falling rainfall. Water stress is having a major impact on its major basins, namely the Oum Er Rbia water basin, which is a major reservoir of the country’s water resourcesWater resources. The characterization of climatic droughtClimatic drought in this basin, through statistical and cartographic analysis, has shown that the evolution of rainfall, during the period 1980–1921, went through five distinct phases, three of which were dry. The severe droughts affecting this basin were recorded during the periods 1983/84, 1992/95, 1998/01, 2019/21, and have marked the entire basin. Examination of the drought years reveals a higher frequency of droughts, with significant spatial extensions. This drought dynamic, particularly that which has marked the last decade, has adversely affected water resourcesWater resources in the Oum Er Rbia basin, and contributed to a water supply crisis in several socio-economic sectors.