Rainfall variability in Malay Peninsula region of Southeast Asia using gridded data

Abstract

Southeast Asia is recognized as a climate-change vulnerable region as it has been significantly affected by many extreme events in the past. This study carried out a rainfall analysis over the Malay Peninsula region of Southeast Asia utilizing historical (1981-2007) gridded rainfall datasets (0.5°×0.5°). The rainfall variability was analyzed in an intra-decadal time series duration. The uncertainty involved in all datasets was also checked based on the comparison of multiple global rainfall datasets. Rainfall gap filling analysis was conducted for producing more accurate rainfall time series after testing multiple mathematical functions. Frequency-based rainfall extreme indices such as Dry Days and Wet days are generated to assess the rainfall variability over the study area. Our results revealed a notable variation existed in the rainfalls over Malay Peninsula as per the long historical duration (1981-2007).