Analysis of rainfall and drought in Rajasthan state, India

Rainfall indices and Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) were obtained for Rajasthan State characterized as the most sensitive and vulnerable state in India. Daily rainfall data of 35 years (1971-2005) for 31 well-spread stations were used to generate critical area maps. From the analysis of rainfall indices, it is observed that few stations situated in east and south-eastern side in the state have shown high negative change for annual and monthly rainfall but not such negative change is observed in the case of average number of wet days for the same stations. Similarly from SPI drought analysis both short term and long term, higher tendency of mild droughts is observed than moderate and severe droughts with a noticeable increase in occurrence of severe droughts on longer time scales. The study describes importance of SPI and rainfall indices in understanding the climate change impacts and droughts to provide better assessment and management aspects for the society.