Article Type:
Research Article

Interannual Variations of Monsoon Rainfall in Godavari River Basin—Connections with the Southern Oscillation

G. Nageswara Rao Department of Meteorology and Oceanography, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, India

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Print Publication:
01 Apr 1998
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0442(1998)011<0768:IVOMRI>2.0.CO;2
Page(s):
768–771
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Abstract

Interannual variations of the monsoon rainfall in one of the central Indian river basins, Godavari, are studied for the 40-yr period 1951–90. It is observed that the departures from the normal of the monsoon rainfall in excess and deficient rainfall years are larger in the plain areas than in the hilly regions. The connections between the monsoon rainfall in this basin and the Southern Oscillation are also examined. The winter to spring Darwin pressure tendency is found to have a significant negative connection with the monsoon rainfall in the basin as a whole. However, this connection is weak in hilly regions, where the rainfall is influenced by the orography. It is also observed that this connection is consistent throughout the entire period of study and suggests the use of Darwin pressure tendency as a parameter for long-range forecasting of the monsoon rainfall in this basin.

Corresponding author address: Dr. G. N. Rao, Atmospheric Science Center, Department of Meteorology and Oceanography, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam 530 003, India.

Abstract

Interannual variations of the monsoon rainfall in one of the central Indian river basins, Godavari, are studied for the 40-yr period 1951–90. It is observed that the departures from the normal of the monsoon rainfall in excess and deficient rainfall years are larger in the plain areas than in the hilly regions. The connections between the monsoon rainfall in this basin and the Southern Oscillation are also examined. The winter to spring Darwin pressure tendency is found to have a significant negative connection with the monsoon rainfall in the basin as a whole. However, this connection is weak in hilly regions, where the rainfall is influenced by the orography. It is also observed that this connection is consistent throughout the entire period of study and suggests the use of Darwin pressure tendency as a parameter for long-range forecasting of the monsoon rainfall in this basin.

Corresponding author address: Dr. G. N. Rao, Atmospheric Science Center, Department of Meteorology and Oceanography, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam 530 003, India.

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