Climatological and Hydrological Extremes of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India, and Its Database for Public Users

Abstract

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands experience a climate characterized by consistently high humidity, substantial annual precipitation, and moderate temperature fluctuations. The region’s susceptibility to extreme weather events—such as cyclones, heavy precipitation, and rising sea levels - highlights the need for a thorough understanding of its climatic patterns. In light of this, this study provides a comprehensive analysis of spatiotemporal variability and trends in mean and extreme precipitation across the Andaman and Nicobar Islands using long-term (i.e., 1981–2023) high-resolution Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Station data (CHIRPS). Our findings indicate a significant increase in monsoonal precipitation, particularly in South Andaman, where the mean precipitation trend is 11.10 mm/year, compared to 6.54 mm/year in Nicobar. Light-to-moderate precipitation events occur more frequently than heavy precipitation across all districts, although heavy precipitation is more frequent in Andaman than in Nicobar. Significant decadal increases in light-to-moderate precipitation events are found across most of Nicobar, while parts of Andaman showed a rise in the frequency of moderate-to-heavy precipitation events. Trend analysis of the highest single-day precipitation annually reveals mixed patterns, with increases noted in North and Middle Andaman (3.66 mm per decade) and South Andaman (1.13 mm per decade), while Nicobar shows a slight decrease (−0.63 mm per decade). Maximum consecutive five-day precipitation trends indicate significant annual increases in North and Middle Andaman (14.98 mm per decade) and South Andaman (3.49 mm per decade), highlighting the variability in extreme precipitation events. The observed trends in precipitation and its extremes highlight the heterogeneity of precipitation patterns, which are critical for water resource management, agriculture, and disaster risk mitigation in the region, particularly in the context of increasing precipitation variability and intensity driven by climate change. Further investigation is needed to understand the physical mechanisms driving the increase in frequency and intensity of precipitation, which will be addressed in a separate paper.

Keywords

• trend
• climatology
• hydrology
• extremes
• precipitation
• temperature