Spatial Distribution and Temporal Trends in the Daily Precipitation Concentration across the Yarlung Tsangpo River Basin: Eastern Himalaya of China

Abstract

Understanding the temporal inequality in precipitation is of great importance for water resource management, environmental risk management, and ecological conservation. This study investigated the spatial patterns and trends of the daily precipitation concentration over the Yarlung Tsangpo River Basin using the concentration index (CI) and the Lorentz asymmetric coefficient (LAC). A Mann–Kendall test and Hurst’s rescaled range analysis were used to detect the change in CI trends. The CI ranged from 0.58 to 0.65, suggesting that a quarter of the rainiest days contributed approximately 69–78% of the total precipitation. The LAC analysis indicated that the nonuniform distribution of precipitation was mainly attributed to a large proportion of days with light rainfall. Compared with that of the central region, the daily precipitation in the western and eastern regions was more irregular. At a seasonal scale, the dry season had a less homogeneous spatial distribution of CI compared to that of the wet season. Most areas exhibited no significant trends in CI from 1970 to 2017. A quarter of the stations presented a significant downward trend in CI, which were primarily found in the central and northern regions. In addition, the future trends of CI in most areas mostly agree with those of the current state; however, the majority of stations exhibited an uneven precipitation distribution in the dry season.