Precipitation fluctuations in the Nepal Himalaya and its vicinity and relationship with some large scale climatological parameters

Shrestha, Arun B.; Wake, Cameron P.; Dibb, Jack E.; Mayewski, Paul Andrew

doi:10.1002/(sici)1097-0088(20000315)20:3<317::aid-joc476>3.0.co;2-g

Cited by 351 publications

(254 citation statements)

References 30 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

230

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Many studies have reported that there is increase in frequency of intense rainfall events, but the total annual precipitation and the number of rainy days have decreased in many parts of Asia 5,[14][15][16][17][18][19] . Increase in extreme rainfall events may have led to severe floods and landslides.…”

Section: Studies Of Extreme Rainfall Trends In Indiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Trends in Rainfall and Peak Flows for some River Basins in India

Jain¹,

Nayak²,

Singh³

et al. 2017

Current Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The aim of the present study is to examine the trends in magnitude and intensity of precipitation and peak floods of different magnitudes for seven major river basins in India. Data pertaining to daily flows for about 30-odd years and precipitation for 61 years (from 1951 to 2012) were analysed. Linear trends were calculated for the number of rainy days, rainfall intensity and occurrence of flood peaks for all basins. Using the Sen's slope estimator, it was found that annual peak rainfall increases for most of the basins in India. From the Mann-Kendall test and Sen's slope, it was found that the Cauvery and Brahamani and Baitarani basins show a rising trend in the number of rainy days, but the trend was falling for five other basins. When the basins were classified as mountains and plains, it was found that the number of daily rainfall events of different magnitudes was more in the mountains compared to the plains. The rivers which flow from west to east direction have more rainy days compared to those which flow towards the west. It was observed that in general the number of rainy days was falling while the number of intense events was increasing. The number of flood peaks of smaller magnitude in different decades showed slight falling trend. It was also found that there was falling or no trend for severe floods. Anthropogenic activities (construction of storage reservoirs, diversions, urbanization, land-use change, and soil and water conservation measures, etc.) have probably affected the generation of peak floods in the rivers of India. River regulation through storage reservoirs in the past 50 years has resulted in the reduction of peak flows. Hence with the same rainfall, the flood peaks would have increased under virgin conditions. Keywords: Flood peaks, rainfall trends, river basins.PRECIPITATION is a key component of the earth's hydrologic cycle, but it is also one of the most difficult hydrometeorological variables to measure and model accurately. Precipitation at a place is determined by large-scale as well as local processes, and therefore exhibits pronounced variability in a range of spatial and temporal scales. Among the climate variables, precipitation is the most important process for the water sector. It is a variable that drives the key natural resource process in a river basin. Therefore, it is most widely analysed in climate change impact studies.Run-off from a river basin is the integrated outcome of climatic inputs and basin topography, land use/cover, and water management infrastructure. Therefore, a change in the precipitation and other relevant climatic variables, land use/land cover, and water utilization leads to a change in water yield from a catchment and its temporal distribution. It was found that river flow has strong natural variability and exhibits long-term persistence 1,2 . This behaviour can confound the results of trend and significance tests.Global warming is unequivocal and is expected to be reflected in an increase in the magnitude and frequency of extreme precipitation ev...

show abstract

Section: Studies Of Extreme Rainfall Trends In Indiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Trends in Rainfall and Peak Flows for some River Basins in India

Jain¹,

Nayak²,

Singh³

et al. 2017

Current Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Based on various local and regional analyses, it is predicted that temperatures in the HKH will continue to rise in the future. For example, Rupa et al (2006) predict that temperatures on the Indian subcontinent will rise between 3.5 and 5.5 o C by 2100, while, Shi (2001) The historical trends in precipitation in HKH region are less clear, with varied and inconsistent results in different areas (Bhutiyani et al, 2010;Shrestha et al, 2000;Xu B et al, 2009). Ice core studies on the Tibetan Plateau indicate that both wet and dry periods have occurred since 960 AD (Tan et al, 2007) and 1600 AD (Yao et al, 2008).…”

Section: Climate Changementioning

confidence: 99%

Reconciling Mountain Biodiversity Conservation and Human Wellbeing: Drivers of Biodiversity Loss and New Approaches in the Hindu-Kush Himalayas

Chettri¹,

Sharma²

2016

Proceedings of the Indian National Science Academy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mountains have long been admired and protected on the grounds of their wilderness,character and landscape beauty. But despite their remoteness and low human population density, many mountain ecosystems are strongly affected by drivers of global change. Mountain ecosystems in the tropical and sub-tropical regions have attracted the attention of a number of scientists, policy makers and natural resource managers because of their critical role in the supply of ecosystem services, and their vulnerability to environmental changes induced by anthropogenic and climatic factors. Adapting to and mitigating the effects of environmental change and sustaining ecosystem services in the context of a burgeoning human population is a major challenge.The Convention on Biological Diversity, Millennium Development Goals, and other international agreements explicitly connect conservation to poverty alleviation. It has become clear that nature conservation only works in practice if people's needs are also taken into account; while conservation efforts based on community participation and ownership tend to be more effective. A concerted effort is needed to develop a better scientific understanding of ecosystem structure and functioning and drivers of change as a basis for formulating comprehensive ecosystem management approaches and strategies that link to human wellbeing and poverty alleviation. This paper reviews the state of knowledge on five principle pressures, driving biodiversity loss in the HKH region, and describes evolving processes that highlight reconciliation of the conservation and development perspectives.

show abstract

“…It is important to note that substantial interdecadal variability exists in both the Indian and the east Asian monsoons. [WGI 3.3 Generally, the frequency of occurrence of more intense rainfall events in many parts of Asia has increased, causing severe floods, landslides, and debris and mud flows, while the number of rainy days and total annual amount of precipitation have decreased (Zhai et al, 1999;Khan et al, 2000;Shrestha et al, 2000;Izrael and Anokhin, 2001;Mirza, 2002;Kajiwara et al, 2003;Lal, 2003;Min et al, 2003;Ruosteenoja et al, 2003;Zhai and Pan, 2003;Gruza and Rankova, 2004;Zhai, 2004). However, there are reports that the frequency of extreme rainfall in some countries has exhibited a decreasing tendency (Manton et al, 2001;Kanai et al, 2004).…”

Section: 221mentioning

confidence: 99%