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[AAS08-P01] Seasonal Variation in Climatology of Lightning over India and East Khasi Hills a Lightning Hotspot in North Eastern Region
Keywords:TRMM, Severe Weather, Lightning flash density, Lightning Hotspot, Climatology
Lightning is a deadly natural hazard that is extremely destructive and occurs for a very short period of time. It is accompanied by severe weather, thunderstorms, and flash floods. More than a hundred people died as a result of lightning in the Indian state of Bihar in June 2020. A global climatology of mean flash rate lightning has previously been developed, but a comprehensive examination of lightning over India, a tropical lightning hotspot, has yet to be completed.
The climatology of India is built using very high spatial resolution datasets (0.1 Degree) to find the hotspots region in India and low resolution diurnal datasets (2.5 Degree) of Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite for 16 years from 1996 to 2013. The incidence of lightning flashes rate density has been studied daily, monthly and seasonal basis for two sub divided time periods 1996-2001 and 2008-2013 respectively.
This research also focuses on diurnal and seasonal changes in the density of lightning flashes during 18 years over India. Diurnal lightning occurs most frequently in the afternoon from (1400-1900 Hrs.), ranges from 0.0008 to 0.001 flashes/km2/hr. The distribution of lightning flash counts by season throughout the Indian landmass is mainly in the pre-monsoon (March-May) 0.248-0.491 flashes/km2/day around 40% and monsoon (June-Sept) 0.284-0.451 flashes/km2/day around 38% seasons and declines. The most distribution of lightning strikes in the Jammu, Kashmir, foothills of Himalayan belt and North Eastern region of India includes Bangladesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa. The East Khasi hills in the Meghalaya is a lightning hotspot which got 101 flashes/km2/yr., and in 2010 all over India including East Khasi Hills, there was a sudden increase in lightning events.
The climatology of India is built using very high spatial resolution datasets (0.1 Degree) to find the hotspots region in India and low resolution diurnal datasets (2.5 Degree) of Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite for 16 years from 1996 to 2013. The incidence of lightning flashes rate density has been studied daily, monthly and seasonal basis for two sub divided time periods 1996-2001 and 2008-2013 respectively.
This research also focuses on diurnal and seasonal changes in the density of lightning flashes during 18 years over India. Diurnal lightning occurs most frequently in the afternoon from (1400-1900 Hrs.), ranges from 0.0008 to 0.001 flashes/km2/hr. The distribution of lightning flash counts by season throughout the Indian landmass is mainly in the pre-monsoon (March-May) 0.248-0.491 flashes/km2/day around 40% and monsoon (June-Sept) 0.284-0.451 flashes/km2/day around 38% seasons and declines. The most distribution of lightning strikes in the Jammu, Kashmir, foothills of Himalayan belt and North Eastern region of India includes Bangladesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa. The East Khasi hills in the Meghalaya is a lightning hotspot which got 101 flashes/km2/yr., and in 2010 all over India including East Khasi Hills, there was a sudden increase in lightning events.