Abstract
Daily maximum and minimum temperatures of 4 stations and rainfall of 22 stations of Himachal Pradesh for the period of 1970 to 2014 have been used to work out extreme climate indices and trends. The temperature and rainfall indices for different stations studied showed no uniform trend. The results indicated the increasing trend in minimum of maximum and minimum of minimum temperature. The increased frequency of warm nights and warm spell but decrease in the number of hot days and hot nights were observed at Bajaura and Shimla. The maximum one day rainfall amount, maximum 5-day rainfall during the month and very wet days were found to decrease at most of the stations in the state. Consecutive wet days (CWD) and annual total rainy days (PRCPTOT) showed statistically mixed trends at various stations in the state.
Highlights
The term ‘Global warming’ and ‘Climate change’ are often used interchangeably, but there is a difference between these two
Keeping in the view, the impact of increasing changes in climate, an attempt has been made in present study to study the trends in temperature and rainfall extremes in Himachal Pradesh over past few decades
Trends in temperature extreme indices The trends in temperature indices for different stations were ascertained following the test of statistical significance for each temperature index
Summary
The term ‘Global warming’ and ‘Climate change’ are often used interchangeably, but there is a difference between these two. Global warming is the gradual increase of the earth’s average surface temperature due to green-house gases in the atmosphere, whereas the ‘Climate change’ is a broader term. It refers to long-term changes in climate; including changes in average temperature and rainfall pattern due to climate change. The globally averaged surface temperature data shows a linear warming trend of 0.85 °C (0.65 to 1.06 °C) during the period 1880–2012 (IPCC, 2014). In the context of global warming, the study of extreme weather events has become important due to its impact on socio-economic activities (Karl and Easterling, 1999). Keeping in the view, the impact of increasing changes in climate, an attempt has been made in present study to study the trends in temperature and rainfall extremes in Himachal Pradesh (at station level) over past few decades
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