Gujarat/Rajasthan and southern pensisular exchange its rains! Interesting observation we see increase in rains over Guj/Raj but decrease in peninsular India.
The frequency of heavy rainfall in south Gujarat, Saurashtra and Kutch has steadily increased over the past 10 years, as a result of which the average seasonal rainfall in these areas has also gone up. An analysis of rainfall data for a longer time-span available with India Meteorological Department (IMD), Gujarat, brings out another interesting fact.
The rise in frequency of heavy precipitation in the coastal areas of the state over the past four decades has narrowed the difference between the average rainfall in north Gujarat and the average precipitation in Kutch.
“The incidence of heavy rainfall has kept increasing over the last 40 years in the coastal areas of the state,” says Dr Kamaljit Ray, director, IMD Gujarat. “And one of the key reasons for this is global warming and climate change.”
Rays says that another important reason for this change is the fact that, in the past 10 years, Gujarat has got most of its rain from systems forming over the Arabian Sea.
She said that it was different a few decades back when the state’s rain pattern was dependent on cyclonic circulations over the Bay of Bengal.This changed in the last decade and had resulted in either excess or normal rainfall in the coastal areas of Gujarat, particularly Saurashtra and Kutch.
An overview of rainfall in the past decade shows that the year 2009 was a drought year for the country as a whole and a year of deficient rainfall for Gujarat.
Yet the actual seasonal rainfall for Saurashtra and Kutch in 2009 was normal. Similarly, IMD data indicates that the year 2004 was a rain deficient year for Gujarat state but, in Saurashtra, the actual rainfall during monsoon was normal.
“This year’s total seasonal rainfall for Saurashtra and Kutch has already taken place,” Ray said on Thursday. “From June 1 to July 29, there was 473mm of rainfall in Saurashtra and Kutch. This is 76 percent more than their normal rainfall of 268.4 mm.”
IMD data shows that the total actual rainfall by July 29 this year in north Gujarat was 398.2 mm, which is 13 percent less than the normal (459.2 mm) for this region by this date. And the actual rainfall recorded this year in the whole of Gujarat is 438.1 mm, which is 25 per cent more than the state’s normal of 350.1 mm.
The total actual rainfall (by July 29, 2010) recorded for Ahmedabad city is 369.8 mm, which is 16 percent more than the city’s normal of 317.9 by July 29.
“The rain pattern for the state has been changing constantly for the last 40 years,” says Ray, observing that the average seasonal rainfall for some spots in the state, including Bhavnagar, Ahmedabad, Surat and Kutch, had increased over the past few decades. An interesting aspect of this change is that there has also been a rise in the frequency of heavy rainfall.
This monsoon, Jamnagar received the highest 24-hour rainfall of 466 mm on July 26 and Mandvi, too, got its highest 24-hour rainfall of 449 mm on the same day.
Gujarat/Rajasthan and southern pensisular exchange its rains! Interesting observation we see increase in rains over Guj/Raj but decrease in peninsular India.
ReplyDeleteThe frequency of heavy rainfall in south Gujarat, Saurashtra and Kutch has steadily increased over the past 10 years, as a result of which the average seasonal rainfall in these areas has also gone up. An analysis of rainfall data for a longer time-span available with India Meteorological Department (IMD), Gujarat, brings out another interesting fact.
The rise in frequency of heavy precipitation in the coastal areas of the state over the past four decades has narrowed the difference between the average rainfall in north Gujarat and the average precipitation in Kutch.
“The incidence of heavy rainfall has kept increasing over the last 40 years in the coastal areas of the state,” says Dr Kamaljit Ray, director, IMD Gujarat. “And one of the key reasons for this is global warming and climate change.”
Rays says that another important reason for this change is the fact that, in the past 10 years, Gujarat has got most of its rain from systems forming over the Arabian Sea.
She said that it was different a few decades back when the state’s rain pattern was dependent on cyclonic circulations over the Bay of Bengal.This changed in the last decade and had resulted in either excess or normal rainfall in the coastal areas of Gujarat, particularly Saurashtra and Kutch.
An overview of rainfall in the past decade shows that the year 2009 was a drought year for the country as a whole and a year of deficient rainfall for Gujarat.
Yet the actual seasonal rainfall for Saurashtra and Kutch in 2009 was normal. Similarly, IMD data indicates that the year 2004 was a rain deficient year for Gujarat state but, in Saurashtra, the actual rainfall during monsoon was normal.
“This year’s total seasonal rainfall for Saurashtra and Kutch has already taken place,” Ray said on Thursday. “From June 1 to July 29, there was 473mm of rainfall in Saurashtra and Kutch. This is 76 percent more than their normal rainfall of 268.4 mm.”
IMD data shows that the total actual rainfall by July 29 this year in north Gujarat was 398.2 mm, which is 13 percent less than the normal (459.2 mm) for this region by this date. And the actual rainfall recorded this year in the whole of Gujarat is 438.1 mm, which is 25 per cent more than the state’s normal of 350.1 mm.
The total actual rainfall (by July 29, 2010) recorded for Ahmedabad city is 369.8 mm, which is 16 percent more than the city’s normal of 317.9 by July 29.
“The rain pattern for the state has been changing constantly for the
last 40 years,” says Ray, observing that the average seasonal rainfall for some spots in the state, including Bhavnagar, Ahmedabad, Surat and Kutch, had increased over the past few decades. An interesting aspect of this change is that there has
also been a rise in the frequency of heavy rainfall.
This monsoon, Jamnagar received the highest 24-hour rainfall of 466 mm on July 26 and Mandvi, too, got its highest 24-hour rainfall of 449 mm on the same day.