Precipitation Regionalization Using Self-Organizing Maps for Mumbai City, India

Abstract

The detailed analysis of individual rain events characteristics is an essential step for improving our understanding of variation in precipitation over different topographies. In this study, the homogeneity among rain gauges was investigated using the concept of “rain event properties,” linking them to the main atmospheric system that affects the rainfall in the region. For this, eight properties of more than 23,000 rain events recorded at 47 meteorological stations in Mumbai, India, were analyzed utilizing seasonal (June-September) rainfall records over 2006-2016. The high similarities among the properties indicated the similarities among the rain gauges. Furthermore, similar rain gauges were distinguished, investigated and characterized by cluster analysis using self-organizing maps (SOM). The cluster analysis results show six clusters of similarly behaving rain gauges, where each cluster addresses one isolated class of variables for the rain gauge. Additionally, the clusters confirm the spatial variation of rainfall caused by the complex topography of Mumbai, comprising the flatland near the Arabian Sea, high-rise buildings (urban area) and mountain and hills areas (Sanjay Gandhi National Park located in the northern part of Mumbai).