Decoding the enigma of 100-year record-breaking rainfall over Tamil Nadu using wavelet analysis

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There have been increasing trends of short-intensive rainstorm events, which lead to urban flood disasters in many coastal areas of India. The relationship between regional rainfall and global large-scale climate indices has shown high teleconnections in terms of recurrence and covariance. We have examined the teleconnection between the November and December 2015 rainstorm events (100-year record breaking rainfall) with the Oceanic Nino Index using the dataset from the Indian Meteorological Organisation (NEMR) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (ONI). The study has found out not only the existence of the cause-and-effect relationship but also the recurrences of these high rainfall events. The climatological trend of northeast monsoon rainfall (NEMR) and Oceanic Nino Index (ONI) is calculated, and the correlation for a period of 71 years (1951–2021) is quantified using Pearson's correlation method. We observed that Chennai, Nagapattinam, Cuddalore, Kancheepuram, Thiruvarur, and adjoining coastal districts are more prone to torrential rains during El Niño years as compared to La-Niña years which is unusual but not exceptional. Wavelet analysis is performed on the NEMR and ONI signals to decipher the teleconnections at different temporal scales. Wavelet coherence shows an in-phase relationship between the ONI and NEMR signal and high covariance (0.8–0.9 at 5% significance level using Monte Carlo generated noise), between the two in 2015 the year which broke the 100 years rainfall record for Chennai. The study highlights the crucial linkage (cause and effect relationship) between the regional rainstorms and the large-scale global index (ONI), and wavelet analysis can explain the distant relationship in the northeast monsoon. The study provides quantified insights especially in the present era of climate change, where the hydrological extremes are persistent. The study does not only connect ONI with NEMR but also quantifies the in-phase strength of the relationship which can guide the scientific community towards accurate predictions and develop disaster mitigation strategies.