Chapter 12
Trends and Pattern of Rainfall over
Semiarid Sahibi Basin in Rajasthan, India
Manpreet Chahal, Pankaj Bhardwaj, and Omvir Singh
Abstract Study of the spatial and temporal trends of rainfall is very important for
water resources planning and management. Therefore, this study has been attempted
to examine the spatial and temporal trends and pattern of rainfall over the semiarid
Sahibi Basin in Rajasthan State of India for a period of 57 years (1961–2017).
Rainfall data for nine stations located over the basin have been obtained from the
Department of Water Resources, Rajasthan. Statistical methods such as Mann–
Kendall test, Sen’s slope estimator, and linear regression were employed to detect
the rainfall trends. Percent change for rainfall, and years of excess and deficient
rainfall, have also been identified. The findings have shown high interannual variability in mean annual rainfall with an average of 633.95 mm (SD ¼ 204.93,
CV ¼ 32.33). However, no significant rising or declining trend has been observed
in the mean annual rainfall over the basin during the 57-year period, whereas
Kotkasim and Tapukara stations have shown significant increasing and decreasing
trends, respectively. Further, pre-monsoon season rainfall has shown a significant
increasing trend. Spatial analysis has shown an increase in rainfall amount from
northeastern and western parts to the southeast. The observed spatial and temporal
differences in the amount of rainfall are high. These results may be valuable for
efficient and sustainable planning and management of water resources for agricultural purposes in the basin.
Keywords Rainfall · Trend · Pattern · Monsoon · Sahibi Basin · India
M. Chahal · O. Singh (*)
Department of Geography, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, Haryana, India
P. Bhardwaj
Department of Geography, Government College, Bahu, Jhajjar, India
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
M. N. Islam, A. van Amstel (eds.), India: Climate Change Impacts, Mitigation
and Adaptation in Developing Countries, Springer Climate,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67865-4_12
273
Trends and Pattern of Rainfall over
Semiarid Sahibi Basin in Rajasthan, India
Manpreet Chahal, Pankaj Bhardwaj, and Omvir Singh
Abstract Study of the spatial and temporal trends of rainfall is very important for
water resources planning and management. Therefore, this study has been attempted
to examine the spatial and temporal trends and pattern of rainfall over the semiarid
Sahibi Basin in Rajasthan State of India for a period of 57 years (1961–2017).
Rainfall data for nine stations located over the basin have been obtained from the
Department of Water Resources, Rajasthan. Statistical methods such as Mann–
Kendall test, Sen’s slope estimator, and linear regression were employed to detect
the rainfall trends. Percent change for rainfall, and years of excess and deficient
rainfall, have also been identified. The findings have shown high interannual variability in mean annual rainfall with an average of 633.95 mm (SD ¼ 204.93,
CV ¼ 32.33). However, no significant rising or declining trend has been observed
in the mean annual rainfall over the basin during the 57-year period, whereas
Kotkasim and Tapukara stations have shown significant increasing and decreasing
trends, respectively. Further, pre-monsoon season rainfall has shown a significant
increasing trend. Spatial analysis has shown an increase in rainfall amount from
northeastern and western parts to the southeast. The observed spatial and temporal
differences in the amount of rainfall are high. These results may be valuable for
efficient and sustainable planning and management of water resources for agricultural purposes in the basin.
Keywords Rainfall · Trend · Pattern · Monsoon · Sahibi Basin · India
M. Chahal · O. Singh (*)
Department of Geography, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, Haryana, India
P. Bhardwaj
Department of Geography, Government College, Bahu, Jhajjar, India
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
M. N. Islam, A. van Amstel (eds.), India: Climate Change Impacts, Mitigation
and Adaptation in Developing Countries, Springer Climate,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67865-4_12
273