Frequency analysis of extreme events is used to estimate the maximum rainfall associated with different return periods and is used in planning hydraulic structures. When carrying out this type of analysis in engineering projects, the hydrological distributions that best fit the trend of maximum 24 h rainfall data are unknown. This study collected maximum 24 h rainfall records from 362 stations distributed throughout Colombia, with the goal of guiding hydraulic planners by suggesting the probability distributions they should use before beginning their analysis. The generalized extreme value (GEV) probability distribution, using the weighted moments method, presented the best fits of frequency analysis of maximum daily precipitation for various return periods for selected rainfall stations in Colombia.

In Colombia, daily maximum multiannual series are one of the main inputs for design streamflow calculation, which requires performing a rainfall frequency analysis that involves several prior steps: (a) requesting the datasets, (b) waiting for the information, (c) reviewing the datasets received for missing or data different from the requested variable, and (d) requesting the information once again if it is not correct. To tackle these setbacks, 318 rain gauges located in the Colombian Caribbean region were used to first evaluate whether or not the Gumbel distribution was indeed the most suitable by performing frequency analyses using three different distributions (Gumbel, Generalized Extreme Value (GEV), and Log-Pearson 3 (LP3)); secondly, to generate daily maximum isohyetal maps for return periods of 2, 5, 10, 20, 25, 50, and 100 years; and, lastly, to evaluate which interpolation method (IDW, spline, and ordinary kriging) works best in areas with a varying density of data points. GEV was most suitable in 47.2% of the rain gauges, while Gumbel, in spite of being widely used in Colombia, was only suitable in 34.3% of the cases. Regarding the interpolation method, better isohyetals were obtained with the IDW method. In general, the areal maximum daily rainfall estimated showed good agreement when compared to the true values.

Air quality prediction is a critical challenge amid rising environmental and health risks from pollution. This study conducts a systematic literature review (SLR) to compare traditional statistical models and machine learning (ML) techniques applied to air quality forecasting. Following the PRISMA 2020 protocol, 412 peer-reviewed articles (2016–2025) were analyzed using thematic filters and bibliometric tools. Results show a marked shift toward ML methods, particularly in Asia (73.2%), with limited representation from Latin America and Africa. Statistical models focused mainly on MLR (88.6%) and ARIMA (11.4%), while ML approaches (n = 574) included Random Forest, LSTM, and SVM. Only 12% of studies conducted direct comparisons. A total of 1177 predictor variables and 307 performance metrics were systematized, highlighting PM2.5, NO₂, and RMSE. Hybrid models like CNN-LSTM show strong potential but face challenges in implementation and interpretability. This review proposes a consolidated framework to guide future research toward more explainable, adaptive, and context-aware predictive models.