Spatiotemporal variation of dry spells in the State of Rio de Janeiro: geospatialization and multivariate analysis

Abstract Dry spell studies are of vital importance for agricultural planning and water management. This study characterized dry spells in the state of Rio de Janeiro (SRJ) - southeastern Brazil - based on statistical tests, multivariate analysis and spatial distribution. Daily rainfall data from 1995 to 2017 were obtained from 86 rainfall stations located in the SRJ and neighbouring states. The data were submitted to quality analysis and gap filling of data using the simple linear regression method. The start of a dry spell was considered after three consecutive days with rainfall