HydroResearch (Jan 2023)
Rainfall and temperature dynamics in four Indian states: A comprehensive spatial and temporal trend analysis
Abstract
Climate change poses a significant global challenge, impacting rainfall and temperature patterns worldwide. To assess regional and temporal changes, we conducted a trend analysis on mean monsoon rainfall and mean summer temperature in four Indian states with diverse climates: Karnataka, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra. The selection of these states as study areas was based on the monsoon's arrival time from the Arabian Sea. Using nonparametric statistical trend analysis techniques such as the Mann-Kendall test, Sen's slope estimator, Kendall tau and Mann-Whitney-Pettitt (MWP). we examined trends from 1951 to 2000 at a significance level of 5%. Additionally, we employed linear regression to identify climatic patterns. Our findings revealed both positive and negative trends in mean monsoon rainfall and mean summer temperature across all four states. Rainfall trends exhibited a decreasing pattern in all states, except for Maharashtra, which displayed a slightly negative trend despite an overall positive annual temperature trend. Conversely, temperature trends showed an increasing pattern in all states except Maharashtra. To further explore the relationship between summer temperature and monsoon precipitation, we investigated several urban centers within these four states. The results indicated varying trends, including increasing, decreasing, and no discernible trend across different stations. Our analysis demonstrated a general decline in yearly monsoon precipitation across most regions in the four states, coupled with recorded temperature changes. Notably, Karnataka exhibited a stronger positive correlation between rainfall and temperature trends. Maharashtra and Gujarat also exhibited a positive correlation, albeit at a moderate level. Conversely, Rajasthan displayed a very weak correlation (tau = 0.079), indicating no significant relationship between these two climatic parameters.
