Physiographic Influence on Rainfall Variability: A Case Study of Upper Ganga Basin

Abstract

Physiography of a region has a greater impact on climatic variables such as rainfall. The influence of physiography on rainfall has been analysed in various regions of the world, but in India, the number of such studies is quite inadequate keeping in mind its vast extent. Rainfall pattern shows large-scale regional variations. There is an absence of a comprehensive study dealing with the variability of rainfall in Ganga Basin. Therefore, in the present study, India Meteorological Department's rain gauge stations of the Ganga Basin have been selected for the analysis of rainfall variation. The rain gauge stations are selected in such a manner that they represent a wide range of physiographic differences that is from mountains to plain. The general elevation of the selected stations varies from 100 to 2000 m. The analysis found that there is high variability in rainfall distribution and there is an increase in rainfall with altitude. Studies of this kind provide an insight to understand the behaviour of climatic variables in different physiographic regions and are very helpful to identify the areas that are more vulnerable to climate change.