Recent tangible interannual variability of monsoonal orographic rainfall
in the Eastern Himalayas
Abstract
Himalayas hydroclimate is a lifeline for South Asia’s most densely
populated region. Every year flooding in the Himalayan rivers is usual
during monsoon, which impacts millions of inhabitants of the Himalayas
and downstream regions. Recent studies demonstrate the role of melting
glaciers and snow, in the context of global warming, along with
monsoonal rain causing recurrent floods. Here, we highlight the
interannual variability in the eastern Himalayan hydroclimate as a
natural hazard using observed reanalysis for the last 43 years
(1979-2021). We found anomalous extreme years with eight dry years and
eight wet years after removing the climate change signal. Monsoon
rainfall is a significant contributor, and melting snow is not a
potential contributor to these anomalous extreme years. The variability
of Himalayan monsoonal rainfall is strongly regulated by local monsoonal
Hadley circulation associated with Walker circulation. Our findings
demonstrate mechanisms associated with Himalayan wet and dry response.
The insights provided in this study underscore the impact of natural
variability-driven challenging events that could be predictable. Thus,
this mechanism could improve the predictability of the Himalayas floods.