Spatiotemporal assessment of rainfall variability and its characteristics over Rapti River Basin, India

Abstract

The determination of rainfall characteristics of a basin is obligatory for mitigation planning and adaptation. This study presents the spatiotemporal analysis of gridded precipitation to understand the variability and seasonality over the Rapti Basin. This basin is affected by frequent flooding; hence it becomes necessary to understand the variability of rainfall. To carry out this analysis, daily precipitation data is extracted for 22 grids for 30 years (1990–2020) of high resolution. Extreme rainfall indices are computed as per the threshold decided by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD). To determine the trend of the rainfall, Mann Kendall (MK) test, Modified MK test and Innovative Trend Analysis was used and magnitude of trend was determined using slope. Trends of daily rainfall, annual, and seasonal rainfall were determined. Annual rainfall has shown significant decreasing trend over the basin. Monsoon season has a noticeable tendency, but other seasons have only seen small shifts. From all the rainfall indices, PRCPTOT and SDII showed a decreasing trend with Sen Slope of −2.56 and 3.00 respectively. While examining the variance in precipitation across the basin, this study will be helpful. HIGHLIGHTS Rainfall characteristics at Rapti basin are determined using gridded data.; Significant decreasing trend was observed in annual rainfall of the basin.; PRCPTOT and SDII showed major decreasing trend with Sen Slope of −2.56 and −3.00 respectively.; Gorakhpur district has highest SDII in the basin.; Flooding in the basin has increased after the change point of the rainfall.;

Keywords

• ita
• mk test
• rainfall
• rapti river
• trend