Features of western disturbances simulated over north India using different land-use data sets

Abstract

Three strong western disturbances (WDs) that occurred over north India in 2008 and 2009 are simulated with two different types of land-use data using a Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. The two different land-use land covers (LULCs) used are Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS) data and United States Geological Survey (USGS) data. The distribution pattern of rainfall produced by the WRF is compared with a corresponding Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) pattern. Rainfall at specific locations is compared with India Meteorological Department (IMD) station data at different locations over north India. Root mean square errors (RMSEs) in rainfall from model simulations using two sets of land-use data are compared with the TRMM and it is found that the simulations with AWiFS data show lower RMSEs. The wind, mean sea-level pressure and relative humidity simulated by the model are compared with the patterns from National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Final Analysis (FNL) data. From the study, it is observed that precipitation is affected by land-cover changes. The precipitation and circulation patterns are better simulated using AWiFS land-use data compared with USGS data. � 2017 Royal Meteorological Society