Contributions of dynamic and thermodynamic scaling in sub-daily precipitation extremes in India

Abstract

Despite the importance of sub-daily precipitation extremes for urban areas, the role of dynamic and thermodynamic scaling in changes in precipitation extremes in India remains poorly constrained. Here, we estimate contributions from thermodynamic and dynamic scaling on changes in sub-daily precipitation extremes for 23 urban locations in India. Sub-daily precipitation extremes have become more intense during the last few decades. Moreover, we find a two-fold rise in the frequency of sub-daily precipitation extremes during 1979-2015, which is faster than the increase in daily precipitation extremes. The contribution of dynamic scaling in this rise in the frequency and intensity of sub-daily precipitation extremes is higher than the thermodynamic scaling. Moreover, half-hourly precipitation extremes show higher contributions from the both thermodynamic (~10%/K) and dynamic (~15%/K) scaling than daily (6%/K and 9%/K, respectively) extremes indicating the role of warming on the rise in the sub-daily precipitation extremes in India. Our findings have implications for better understanding the dynamic response of precipitation extremes under the warming climate over India.