Inter-Comparison of High Resolution Satellite Estimates for Cloudburst Events in the Northwest Himalaya

Abstract

The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) 3B42 version 7 precipitation data has been extensively used for inter-comparison with observations and model validation. The rain distribution over the Northwest Himalaya (NWH) were found to be accurate with a strong positive correlation of 0.88 between TRMM and India Meteorological Department (IMD) station data, supporting the use of 3B42 V7 for the study of extreme rainfall events (ERE’s) over the region. However, many high resolution satellite data sets were made available in the recent past and their potential have not been evaluated for ERE’s like cloudbursts in the NWH. The present endeavor aims to provide guidance to the choice of global precipitation data sets (GPDs). In particular, this study is conducted to evaluate three recent satellite-based rainfall products, i.e. Global Precipitation Measurements (GPM), Indian National Satellite System (INSAT 3D), and CPC Morphing Technique (CMORPH), against the highly used TRMM-RT 3B42 V7 precipitation data for the estimation of rainfall episodes in the recent years (2014–2016). Our results reveal that the magnitude of precipitation and location of peak rainfall are biased in INSAT 3D, whereas CMORPH and the high resolution GPM product capture it with relatively higher values of the employed statistical metrics. Also, the rainfall estimates from GPM and CMORPH are in good agreement with TRMM for cloudbursts events. Particularly, high resolution GPM is useful for monitoring the extreme rainfall event in the region.