Abstract:
Daily rainfall of 23 high resolution (1W × 1W) grid cells covering the Narmada basin has been analyzed to
investigate the trend in extreme rainfall events. The trend analysis of the 1-day maximum rainfall
series showed a significant positive trend at 95% significance level with the Mann–Kendall test
statistic value of z ¼ 3.66 over entire basin. The analysis further suggested that there has been an
increasing trend in the magnitude of 1-day maximum rainfall over the basin with more areas in the
basin experiencing high intensity storms, which was more prominent in the recent 20 years. Drought
duration estimated by the standardized precipitation index for the periods 1951–1970 and
1989–2008 indicated that the entire basin has experienced frequent droughts during the recent two
decades, with the middle zone of the basin being more prone to droughts. The analysis also
suggested that appropriate measures may be proposed for better management of the water
resources in the basin, and also for mitigation of floods and droughts, considering the increased risk
of the high intensity storms as well as the increased frequency of drought occurrence during the
recent two decades.
