Changes in precipitation extremes over arid to semiarid and subhumid Punjab,Pakistan

Asymmetrical monsoons during the recent past have resulted into spatially variable and devastating floods in South Asia. Analysis of historic precipitation extremes record may help in formulating mitigation strategies at local level. Eleven indices of precipitation extremes were evaluated using RClimDex and daily time series data for analysis period of 1981–2010 from five representative cities across Punjab province of Pakistan. The indices include consecutive dry days, consecutive wet days, number of days above daily average precipitation, number of days with precipitation ≥10 mm, number of days with precipitation ≥20 mm, very wet days, extremely wet days, simple daily intensity index, maximum 1-day precipitation quantity, maximum 5 consecutive day precipitation quantity, and annual total wet-day precipitation. Mann-Kendall test and Sen’s slope extremes were used to detect trends in indices. Droughts and excessive precipitation were dictated by elevation from mean sea level with prolonged dry spells in southern Punjab and vice versa confirming spatial trends for precipitation extremes. However, no temporal trend was observed for any of the indices. Summer in the region is the wettest season depicting contribution of monsoons during June through August toward devastating floods in the region.     

Trends in extremes of temperature, dew point, and precipitation from long instrumental series from central Europe

For the analysis of trends in weather extremes, we introduce a diagnostic index variable, the exceedance product, which combines intensity and frequency of extremes. We separate trends in higher moments from trends in mean or standard deviation and use bootstrap resampling to evaluate statistical significances. The application of the concept of the exceedance product to daily meteorological time series from Potsdam (1893 to 2005) and Prague–Klementinum (1775 to 2004) reveals that extremely cold winters occurred only until the mid-20th century, whereas warm winters show upward trends. These changes were significant in higher moments of the temperature distribution. In contrast, trends in summer temperature extremes (e.g., the 2003 European heatwave) can be explained by linear changes in mean or standard deviation. While precipitation at Potsdam does not show pronounced trends, dew point does exhibit a change from maximum extremes during the 1960s to minimum extremes during the 1970s.     

Assessment of climate extremes in the Eastern Mediterranean

Summary Several seasonal and annual climate extreme indices have been calculated and their trends (over 1958 to 2000) analysed to identify possible changes in temperature- and precipitation-related climate extremes over the eastern Mediterranean region. The most significant temperature trends were revealed for summer, where both minimum and maximum temperature extremes show statistically significant warming trends. Increasing trends were also identified for an index of heatwave duration. Negative trends were found for the frequency of cold nights in winter and especially in summer. Precipitation indices highlighted more regional contrasts. The western part of the study region, which comprises the central Mediterranean and is represented by Italian stations, shows significant positive trends towards intense rainfall events and greater amounts of precipitation. In contrast, the eastern half showed negative trends in all precipitation indices indicating drier conditions in recent times. Significant positive trends were revealed for the index of maximum number of consecutive dry days, especially for stations in southern regions, particularly on the islands.Current affiliation: National Observatory of Athens, Athens, Greece.     

安徽省夏季降水区域特征

用R型因子分析的方法对1957-2000年安徽省16个测站的夏季降水资料进行研究,应用因子荷载点聚图将观测站点进行区域划分,找出每个区域内的代表观测站,统计各分区夏季降水特征、夏季降水长期趋势变化、区域旱涝特征及年代际变化.结果表明:安徽省夏季降水可以划分为3个区.其中砀山、滁州和宁国可以分别作为它们的标准站.研究指出,40多年3个区的夏季降水特征差别较大:1区夏季降水量最少,2区居中,3区最多,其中6月3个区差别最明显;1区、2区夏季降水量长期趋势变化不明显,而3区表现为明显的正趋势变化;2区是降水异常的多发区,更容易发生干旱与洪涝;1区中在1957-1970年和1991-2000年旱涝较频繁,而在2区和3区中,旱、涝频数随时间变化总体趋势是从旱向涝转变的.     

Latest update of the climatology and changes in the seasonal distribution of precipitation over China

Based on daily precipitation data from 524 meteorological stations in China during the period 1960–2009, the climatology and the temporal changes (trends, interannual, and decadal variations) in the proportion of seasonal precipitation to the total annual precipitation were analyzed on both national and regional scales. Results indicated that (1) for the whole country, the climatology in the seasonal distribution of precipitation showed that the proportion accounted for 55 % in summer (June–August), for around 20 % in both spring (March–May) and autumn (September–November), and around 5 % in winter (December–February). But the spatial features were region-dependent. The primary precipitation regime, “summer–autumn–spring–winter”, was located in central and eastern regions which were north of the Huaihe River, in eastern Tibet, and in western Southwest China. The secondary regime, “summer–spring–autumn–winter”, appeared in the regions south of the Huaihe River, except Jiangnan where spring precipitation dominated, and the southeastern Hainan Island where autumn precipitation prevailed. (2) For the temporal changes on the national scale, first, where the trends were concerned, the proportion of winter precipitation showed a significantly increasing trend, while that of the other three seasons did not show any significant trends. Second, for the interannual variation, the variability in summer was the largest among the four seasons and that in winter was the smallest. Then, on the decadal scale, China experienced a sharp decrease only in the proportion of summer precipitation in 2000. (3) For the temporal changes on the regional scale, all the concerned 11 geographic regions of China underwent increasing trends in the proportion of winter precipitation. For spring, it decreased over the regions south of the Yellow River but increased elsewhere. The trend in the proportion of summer precipitation was generally opposite to that of spring. For autumn, it decreased over the other ten regions except Inner Mongolia with no trend. It is noted that the interannual variability of precipitation seasonality is large over North China, Huanghuai, and Jianghuai; its decadal variability is large over the other regions, especially over those regions south of the Yangtze River.     

Trends of precipitation extreme indices over a subtropical semi-arid area using PERSIANN-CDR

In this study, satellite-based daily precipitation estimation data from precipitation estimation from remotely sensed information using artificial neural networks (PERSIANN)-climate data record (CDR) are being evaluated in Iran. This dataset (0.25°, daily), which covers over three decades of continuous observation beginning in 1983, is evaluated using rain-gauge data for the period of 1998–2007. In addition to categorical statistics and mean annual amount and number of rainy days, ten standard extreme indices were calculated to observe the behavior of daily extremes. The results show that PERSIANN-CDR exhibits reasonable performance associated with the probability of detection and false-alarm ratio, but it overestimates precipitation in the area. Although PERSIANN-CDR mostly underestimates extreme indices, it shows relatively high correlations (between 0.6316–0.7797) for intensity indices. PERSIANN-CDR data are also used to calculate the trend in annual amounts of precipitation, the number of rainy days, and precipitation extremes over Iran covering the period of 1983–2012. Our analysis shows that, although annual precipitation decreased in the western and eastern regions of Iran, the annual number of rainy days increased in the northern and northwestern areas. Statistically significant negative trends are identified in the 90th percentile daily precipitation, as well as the mean daily precipitation from wet days in the northern part of the study area. The positive trends of the maximum annual number of consecutive dry days in the eastern regions indicate that the dry periods became longer in these arid areas.     

Temperature and precipitation trends in Canada during the 20th century

Abstract

Trends in Canadian temperature and precipitation during the 20th century are analyzed using recently updated and adjusted station data. Six elements, maximum, minimum and mean temperatures along with diurnal temperature range (DTR), precipitation totals and ratio of snowfall to total precipitation are investigated. Anomalies from the 1961–1990 reference period were first obtained at individual stations, and were then used to generate gridded datasets for subsequent trend analyses. Trends were computed for 1900–1998 for southern Canada (south of 60°N), and separately for 1950–1998 for the entire country, due to insufficient data in the high arctic prior to the 1950s.

From 1900–1998, the annual mean temperature has increased between 0.5 and 1.5°C in the south. The warming is greater in minimum temperature than in maximum temperature in the first half of the century, resulting in a decrease of DTR. The greatest warming occurred in the west, with statistically significant increases mostly seen during spring and summer periods. Annual precipitation has also increased from 5% to 35% in southern Canada over the same period. In general, the ratio of snowfall to total precipitation has been increasing due mostly to the increase in winter precipitation which generally falls as snow and an increase of ratio in autumn. Negative trends were identified in some southern regions during spring. From 1950–1998, the pattern of temperature change is distinct: warming in the south and west and cooling in the northeast, with similar magnitudes in both maximum and minimum temperatures. This pattern is mostly evident in winter and spring. Across Canada, precipitation has increased by 5% to 35%, with significant negative trends found in southern regions during winter. Overall, the ratio of snowfall to total precipitation has increased, with significant negative trends occurring mostly in southern Canada during spring.

Indices of abnormal climate conditions are also examined. These indices were defined as areas of Canada for 1950–1998, or southern Canada for 1900–1998, with temperature or precipitation anomalies above the 66th or below the 34th percentiles in their relevant time series. These confirmed the above findings and showed that climate has been becoming gradually wetter and warmer in southern Canada throughout the entire century, and in all of Canada during the latter half of the century.     

Simulation of extreme precipitation over the Yangtze River Basin using Wakeby distribution

Based on the daily observational precipitation data at 147 stations in the Yangtze River Basin during 1960–2005 and projected daily data of 79 grid cells from the ECHAM5/ MPI-OM model in the 20th and 21st century, time series of precipitation extremes which contain AM (Annual Maximum) and MI (Munger Index) are constructed. The distribution feature of precipitation extremes is analyzed based on the two index series. Three principal results were obtained, as stated in the sequel. (i) In the past half century, the intensity of extreme heavy precipitation and drought events was higher in the mid-lower Yangtze than in the upper Yangtze reaches. Although the ECHAM5 model still can’t capture the precipitation extremes over the Yangtze River Basin satisfactorily, spatial pattern of the observed and the simulated precipitation extremes are much similar to each other. (ii) For quantifying the characteristics of extremely high and extremely low precipitation over the Yangtze River Basin, four probability distributions are used, namely: General Extreme Value (GEV), General Pareto (GPA), General Logistic (GLO), and Wakeby (WAK). It was found that WAK can adequately describe the probability distribution of precipitation extremes calculated from both observational and projected data. (iii) Return period of precipitation extremes show spatially different changes under three greenhouse gas emission scenarios. The 50-year heavy precipitation and drought events from simulated data during 1951–2000 will become more frequent, with return period below 25 years, for the most mid-lower Yangtze region in 2001–2050. The changing character of return periods of precipitation extremes should be taken into account for the hydrological design and future water resources management.     

Spatial patterns and temporal trends of daily precipitation indices in Iran

Spatial patterns of daily precipitation indices and their temporal trends over Iran are investigated using the APHRODITE gridded daily precipitation dataset for the period 1961–2004. The performance and limitations of the gridded dataset are checked against observations at ten rain-gauge stations that are representative of different climates in Iran. Results suggest that the spatial patterns of the indices reflect the role of orography and sea neighborhoods in differentiating central-southern arid and semi-arid regions from northern and western mountainous humid areas. It is also found that western Iran is impacted by the most extreme daily precipitation events occurring in the country, though the number of rainy days has its maximum in the Caspian Sea region. The time series of precipitation indices is checked for long-term trends using the least squares method and Mann-Kendall test. The maximum daily precipitation per year shows upward trends in most of Iran, though being statistically significant only in western regions. In the same regions, upward trends are also observed in the number of wet days and in the accumulated precipitation and intensity during wet days. Conversely, the contribution of precipitation events below the 75th percentile to the annual total precipitation is decreasing with time, suggesting that extreme events are responsible for the upward trend observed in the total annual precipitation and in the other indices. This tendency towards more severe/extreme precipitation events, if confirmed by other datasets and further analyses with longer records, would require the implementation of adequate water resources management plans in western Iran aimed at mitigating the increasing risk of intense precipitation and associated flash floods and soil erosion.     

Change-points in climate extremes in the Zhujiang River Basin, South China, 1961–2007

In this paper, change-points in time series of annual extremes in temperature and precipitation in the Zhujiang River Basin are analyzed with the CUSUM test. The data cover the period 1961–2007 for 192 meteorological stations. Annual indicators are analyzed: mean temperature, maximum temperature, warm days, total precipitation, 5-day maximum precipitation, and dry days. Significant change-points (1986/87, 1997/98, 1968/69, and 2003/04) are detected in the time series of most of the indicators. The change-point in 1986/87 is investigated in more detail. Most stations with this change-point in temperature indicators are located in the eastern and coastal areas of the basin. Stations with this change-point in dry days are located in the western area. The means and trends of the temperature indicators increase in the entire basin after 1986/87. The highest magnitudes can be found at the coast and delta. Decreasing (increasing) tendencies in total and 5-day maximum precipitation (dry days) are mostly observed in the western and central regions. The detected change-points can be explained by changes in the indices of the Western Pacific subtropical high and the East Asian summer monsoon as well as by change-points in wind directions. In years when the indices simultaneously increase and decrease (indices taking reverse directions to negative and positive) higher annual temperatures and lower annual precipitation occur in the Zhujiang River Basin. The high station density and data quality are very useful for spatially assessing change-points of climatic extreme events. The relation of the change points to large-scale oscillation can provide valuable data for planning adaptation measures against climate risks, e.g. for flood control, disaster preparedness, and water resource management.     

Temperature and precipitation fluctuations in the Czech Republic during the period of instrumental measurements

The history of early meteorological observations using instruments in the Czech Lands is described (the longest temperature series for Prague-Klementinum starts in 1775, precipitation series for Brno in 1803). Using the PRODIGE method, long-term monthly temperature and precipitation series from selected secular stations were homogenised (for 10 and 12 stations, respectively). All the seasonal and annual temperature series for the common period 1882–2010 show a significant positive linear trend with accelerated warming from the 1970s onwards. No significant linear trends were disclosed in the series of seasonal and annual precipitation totals. Correlation coefficients between the Czech series analysed decrease as distances between measuring stations increase. A sharper decrease of correlations for precipitation totals displays much weaker spatial relationships than those for mean temperatures. The highest correlations between all stations appeared in 1921–1950, the lowest in 1891–1920 (temperature) and 1981–2010 (precipitation). Wavelet analysis reveals that very distinct annual cycles as well as the slightly weaker semi-annual ones are better expressed for temperature series than for precipitation. Statistically significant cycles longer than 1?year are temporally unstable and sporadic for precipitation, while in the temperature series cycles of 7.4–7.7 and 17.9–18.4?years were recorded as significant by all stations in 1882–2010 (quasi-biennial cycle of 2.1–2.2?years for half the stations). Czech homogenous temperature series correlate best with those of the Northern Hemisphere for annual, spring and summer values (with significant correlation coefficients between 0.60 and 0.70), but this relation is temporally unstable. Circulation indices, such as the North Atlantic Oscillation Index (NAOI) and the Central European Zonal Index (CEZI), may explain the greater part of Czech temperature variability, especially from December to March and for the winter; however, this relationship is much weaker, or even random, for precipitation series. Further, relationships with the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) are weak and random. Relatively weak coincidences exist between statistically significant cycles in the Czech series and those detected in NAOI, CEZI and SOI series.     

Detection of trends in precipitation during 1960–2008 in Jiangxi province, southeast China

Changes in precipitation exert an enormous impact on human life, and it is of vital importance to study regular patterns of meteorological and hydrological events. In order to explore the changing spatial and temporal patterns of precipitation amounts, precipitation extremes and precipitation concentration in Jiangxi province in southeast China between 1960 and 2008, several precipitation indices series were analysed using the Mann–Kendall test in this study. Our results indicate remarkable differences among the stations with negative and positive precipitation trends at the annual, seasonal and monthly scales, significant increasing trends are mainly found during January, August, winter and summer, while significant decreasing trends mostly are observed during October and autumn. For precipitation extremes, most precipitation indices suggest that both the intensity and the days of extreme precipitation are increasing; the mean precipitation amount, especially, on a wet day shows a significant positive trend. When it comes to precipitation concentration, the monthly rainfall heterogeneity shows an insignificant downward trend, while the contribution of the days with greatest rainfall displays an insignificant upward trend. Furthermore, the long-range persistence is detected for changing process of precipitation amount, extreme precipitation and precipitation concentration using the Rescaled Range Analysis.     

Precipitation extremes in the Yangtze River Basin,China: regional frequency and spatial–temporal patterns

Regional frequency analysis and spatial–temporal patterns of precipitation extremes are investigated based on daily precipitation data covering 1960–2009 using the index-flood L-moments method together with some advanced statistical tests and spatial analysis techniques. The results indicate that: (1) the entire Yangtze River basin can be divided into six homogeneous regions in terms of extreme daily precipitation index. Goodness-of-fit test indicates that Pearson type III (PE3, three parameters), general extreme-value (GEV, three parameters), and general normal (GNO, three parameters) perform well in fitting regional precipitation extremes; (2) the regional growth curves for each homogeneous region with 99 % error bands show that the quantile estimates are reliable enough and can be used when return periods are less than 100 years, and the results indicate that extreme precipitation events are highly probable to occur in regions V and VI, and hence higher risk of floods and droughts; and (3) spatial patterns of annual extreme daily precipitation with return period of 20 years indicate that precipitation amount increases gradually from the upper to the lower Yangtze River basin, showing higher risks of floods and droughts in the middle and lower Yangtze River basin, and this result is in good agreement with those derived from regional growth curves.     

青藏高原中东部夏季极端降水年代际变化特征

基于中国国家级地面气象站基本气象要素日值数据集得到的均一化降水序列,计算了夏季极端降水指数,分析青藏高原中东部1961—2014年夏季极端降水年代际变化趋势。结果表明:青藏高原中东部地区夏季降水量占全年总降水的50%以上,且夏季降水的变化趋势存在区域性差异,北部站点主要为增加趋势,南部增加和减少趋势的站点相当。夏季极端降水除西藏东部主要为减少趋势外,其他地区主要为增加趋势,且极强降水量的年代际变化趋势显著。大部分夏季极端降水指数的变化趋势在1970s发生转折,在此之前表现为减少的趋势,之后为增加趋势。通过Mann-Kendall趋势检验,在2000年之后强降水量和极强降水量出现突变。     

Recent changes in precipitation extremes in the Heihe River basin,Northwest China

Changes in rainfall extremes pose a serious and additional threat to water resources planning and management, natural and artificial oasis stability, and sustainable development in the fragile ecosystems of arid inland river basins. In this study, the trend and temporal variation of extreme precipitation are analyzed using daily precipitation datasets at 11 stations over the arid inland Heihe River basin in Northwest China from 1960 to 2011. Eight indices of extreme precipitation are studied. The results show statistically significant and large-magnitude increasing and decreasing trends for most indices, primarily in the Qilian Mountains and eastern Hexi Corridor. More frequent and intense rainfall extremes have occurred in the southern part of the desert area than in the northern portion. In general, the temporal variation in precipitation extremes has changed throughout the basin. Wet day precipitation and heavy precipitation days show statistically significant linear increasing trends and step changes in the Qilian Mountains and Hexi Corridor. Consecutive dry days have decreased obviously in the region in most years after approximately the late 1980s, but meanwhile very long dry spells have increased, especially in the Hexi Corridor. The probability density function indicates that very long wet spells have increased in the Qilian Mountains. The East Asian summer monsoon index and western Pacific subtropical high intensity index possess strong and significant negative and positive correlations with rainfall extremes, respectively. Changes in land surface characteristics and the increase in water vapor in the wet season have also contributed to the changes in precipitation extremes over the river basin.     

Changes of precipitation and extremes and the possible effect of urbanization in the Beijing metropolitan region during 1960–2012 based on homogenized observations

Daily precipitation series at 15 stations in the Beijing metropolitan region (BMR) during 1960-2012 were homogenized using the multiple analysis of series for homogenization method, with additional adjustments based on analysis of empirical cumulative density function (ECDF) regarding climate extremes. The cumulative density functions of daily precipitation series, the trends of annual and seasonal precipitation, and summer extreme events during 1960-2012 in the original and final adjusted series at Beijing station were comparatively analyzed to show the necessity and efficiency of the new method. Results indicate that the ECDF adjustments can improve the homogeneity of high-order moments of daily series and the estimation of climate trends in extremes. The linear trends of the regional-mean annual and seasonal (spring, summer, autumn, and winter) precipitation series are -10.16, 4.97, -20.04, 5.02, and -0.11 mm (10 yr)-1, respectively. The trends over the BMR increase consistently for spring/autumn and decrease for the whole year/summer; however, the trends for winter decrease in southern parts and increase in northern parts. Urbanization affects local trends of precipitation amount, frequency, and intensity and their geographical patterns. For the urban-influenced sites, urbanization tends to slow down the magnitude of decrease in the precipitation and extreme amount series by approximately -10.4% and -6.0%, respectively; enhance the magnitude of decrease in precipitation frequency series by approximately 5.7%; reduce that of extremes by approximately -8.9%; and promote the decreasing trends in the summer intensity series of both precipitation and extremes by approximately 6.8% and 51.5%, respectively.     

Changing climate extremes in the Northeast United States: observations and projections from CMIP5

Climate extremes indices are evaluated for the northeast United States and adjacent Canada (Northeast) using gridded observations and twenty-three CMIP5 coupled models. Previous results have demonstrated observed increases in warm and wet extremes and decreases in cold extremes, consistent with changes expected in a warming world. Here, a significant shift is found in the distribution of observed total annual precipitation over 1981-2010. In addition, significant positive trends are seen in all observed wet precipitation indices over 1951-2010. For the Northeast region, CMIP5 models project significant shifts in the distributions of most temperature and precipitation indices by 2041-2070. By the late century, the coldest (driest) future extremes are projected to be warmer (wetter) than the warmest (wettest) extremes at present. The multimodel interquartile range compares well with observations, providing a measure of confidence in the projections in this region. Spatial analysis suggests that the largest increases in heavy precipitation extremes are projected for northern, coastal, and mountainous areas. Results suggest that the projected increase in total annual precipitation is strongly influenced by increases in winter wet extremes. The largest decreases in cold extremes are projected for northern and interior portions of the Northeast, while the largest increases in summer warm extremes are projected for densely populated southern, central, and coastal areas. This study provides a regional analysis and verification of the latest generation of CMIP global models specifically for the Northeast, useful to stakeholders focused on understanding and adapting to climate change and its impacts in the region.     

Regional trends in recent precipitation indices in China

Summary Regional characteristics of recent precipitation indices in China were analyzed from a daily rainfall dataset based on 494 stations during 1961 to 2000. Some indices such as precipitation percentiles, precipitation intensity, and precipitation persistence were used and their inter-decadal differences were shown in this study. Over the last 40 years, precipitation indices in China showed increasing and decreasing trends separated into three main regions. A decreasing trend of annual precipitation and summer precipitation was observed from the southern part of northeast China to the mid-low Yellow River valley and the upper Yangtze River valley. This region also showed a decreasing trend in precipitation intensity and a decreasing trend in the frequency of persistent wet days. On the other hand, increasing trends in precipitation intensity were found in the Xinjiang region (northwest China), the northern part of northeast China, and southeast China, mainly to the south of the mid-low Yangtze River. The indices of persistent wet days and strong rainfall have contributed to the increasing frequency of floods in southeast China and the Xinjiang region in the last two decades. Persistent dry days and weakening rainfall have resulted in the increasing frequency of drought along the Yellow River valley including North China. Regional precipitation characteristics and trends in precipitation indices indicate the climate state variations in the last four decades. A warm-wet climate state was found in northwest China and in the northern part of northeast China. A warm-dry climate state extends from the southern part of northeast China to the Yellow River valley, while a cool-wet summer was found in southeast China, particularly in the mid-low Yangtze River valley over the last two decades.     

Prevailing trends of climatic extremes across Indus-Delta of Sindh-Pakistan

This study examines the variability and change in the patterns of climatic extremes experienced in Indus-Delta of Sindh province of Pakistan, comprising regions of Karachi, Badin, Mohenjodaro, and Rohri. The homogenized daily minimum and maximum temperature and precipitation data for a 36-year period were used to calculate 13 and 11 indices of temperature and precipitation extremes with the help of RClimDex, a program written in the statistical software package R. A non-parametric Mann–Kendall test and Sen’s slope estimates were used to determine the statistical significance and magnitude of the calculated trend. Temperatures of summer days and tropical nights increased in the region with overall significant warming trends for monthly maximum temperature as well as for warm days and nights reflecting dry conditions in the study area. The warm extremes and nighttime temperature indices showed greater trends than cold extremes and daytime indices depicting an overall warming trends in the Delta. Historic decrease in the acreage of major crops and over 33% decrease in agriculture credit for Sindh are the indicators of adverse impacts of warmer and drier weather on Sindh agriculture. Trends reported for Karachi and Badin are expected to decrease rice cultivation, hatching of fisheries, and mangroves forest surrounding these cities. Increase in the prevailing temperature trends will lead to increasingly hotter and drier summers resulting to constraints on cotton, wheat, and rice yield in Rohri and Mohenjodaro areas due to increased crop water requirements that may be met with additional groundwater pumping; nonetheless, the depleted groundwater resources would have a direct impact on the region’s economy.     

On the relationship between Indian Ocean Dipole events and the precipitation of Pakistan

This study investigated the relationship between the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) and the precipitation of Pakistan using data for the period of 1958–2010. The long-term evolution of the IOD index did not show interannual patterns similar to those of the annual precipitation of Pakistan. No linkage between the co-occurring trends of the IOD and the precipitation was traced during the period of investigation. The correlation between the IOD and the precipitation of Pakistan indicated a noteworthy impact over the monsoonal regions, especially the coastal area and the western region of Pakistan, which showed a significant positive correlation between the IOD index and annual and summer precipitation. A significant positive relationship was also revealed between the precipitation of the Balochistan Plateau and the IOD index for the summer monsoon season. No connection was observed between the IOD and the precipitation of the northern regions and the upper Indus Plain of Pakistan. Positive phases of the IOD have been noted to occur along with surplus precipitation during active monsoon conditions. The southeasterly wind moves from the Arabian Sea and transports additional moisture from the Arabian Sea to the coastal and southwestern parts of Pakistan during positive phases of the IOD.