Climatic-Geomorphological Investigation of the World's Wettest Areas around Cherrapunji and Mawsynram, Meghalaya (India)

Abstract

This research paper comprehensively examines the climate and geomorphological features of Cherrapunji and Mawsynram, aiming to understand the factors and environmental implications of their extreme precipitation. The study investigates climatic patterns, identifies geomorphological characteristics, and explores the factors influencing the occurrence of heavy rainfall in these areas, and displays unique rainfall patterns with high precipitation levels and notable spatio-temporal variation influenced by topographic interactions. Trend analysis reveals stable rainfall conditions over the past 122 years. The shift of the world's wettest place from Cherrapunji to Mawsynram in recent decades have been attributed to various factors such as geographical location, geomorphology-local topography, LULC-human influence, rain shadow effect, and orographic lifting effects. Cherrapunji recorded maximum rainfall of 24.55 thousand mm, while Mawsynram received 26 thousand mm of rainfall in the last century. The analysis of long-term rainfall data indicates distinct dry and wet seasons, with recent trends (2000-2020) suggesting a decline in rainfall for both locations. Furthermore, extreme value analysis techniques are employed to estimate maximum rainfall for different return periods, offering insights into extreme rainfall events. The return period of one day's highest rainfall of 1340.82 mm is about 100 years. The findings contribute to our understanding of climate change impacts, support sustainable development practices, and inform strategies for water resource management and erosion mitigation in similar geographic contexts. This research enhances our knowledge of these unique regions and their significance within the broader context of global climate systems.