Pantnagar Journal of Research

Abstract

As climate change continues to cause havoc worldwide, it is important to study the local meteorological parameters to understand their impact. The summer and early monsoon season ranging between 10-23 standard meteorological weeks (SMWs) is very important for the kharif crops in the Tarai region. The current study was performed on the maximum-minimum temperatures, morning and evening relative humidity, rainfall and rainy days patterns in Pantnagar, Uttarakhand. A simple trend analysis was done for a time period from 2010-2024. The results showed a decreasing trend in evaporation since 2019-2024 at a rate of 1.7 mm/year. The early monsoon season during previous years observed moderate to heavy rainfall patterns, but due to daily temperature variations the rainfall has become extremely irregular in recent years (2019-2024). Continuous dryness, high temperatures and El Nino impact caused very low rainfall of 2.4 mm during 2024 which was extremely lower than the previous years as well as the normal rainfall of the region. Though the rainfall pattern indicates an increase in rainfall over the years during 2020, 2021 and 2023 but with decreased rainy days leading to heavy downpours in a very short period of time. All these steep variations in recent years during summer and early monsoon season have created difficult situations, particularly for the spring and kharif crops of the Tarai region thus, such local study could help to understand the weather patterns and its impact so that weather preparations could be made well in advance.