Relationship between rainfall and lightning over central Indian region in monsoon and premonsoon seasons

Abstract

Lightning activity and rainfall over the central Indian region (lat, 15.5° N to 25.5° N and lon, 75° E to 85° E) from the TRMM satellite have been analyzed. Ten years' data of monthly lightning and hourly averaged monthly rainfall from 1998 to 2007 have been used for analysis, which shows quite different relationships between lightning and rainfall in monsoon and premonsoon seasons in this region. Very good positive correlation is observed between rainfall and lightning during the premonsoon period, however, in the monsoon period a correlation between them is not so good. The different relationship between lightning and rainfall in the monsoon and premonsoon has been attributed to the low updraft during the monsoon period due to low cloud base height and low aerosol concentration during this period. This analysis shows that deep electrified convective systems do form over the central Indian region during active monsoon periods; however the relationship between convective rainfall and lightning frequency during this period is not as consistent as during the premonsoon period.