Rainfall Trends and Extremes in Saudi Arabia in Recent Decades
The observed records of recent decades show increased economic damage associated with flash flooding in different regions of Saudi Arabia. An increase in extreme rainfall events may cause severe repercussions for the socio-economic sectors of the country. The present study investigated the observed...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2020-09-01
|
| Series: | Atmosphere |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/11/9/964 |
| _version_ | 1797554072340922368 |
|---|---|
| author | Mansour Almazroui |
| author_facet | Mansour Almazroui |
| author_sort | Mansour Almazroui |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The observed records of recent decades show increased economic damage associated with flash flooding in different regions of Saudi Arabia. An increase in extreme rainfall events may cause severe repercussions for the socio-economic sectors of the country. The present study investigated the observed rainfall trends and associated extremes over Saudi Arabia for the 42-year period of 1978–2019. It measured the contribution of extreme events to the total rainfall and calculated the changes to mean and extreme rainfall events over five different climate regions of Saudi Arabia. Rainfall indices were constructed by estimating the extreme characteristics associated with daily rainfall frequency and intensity. The analysis reveals that the annual rainfall is decreasing (5.89 mm decade<sup>−1</sup>, significant at the 90% level) over Saudi Arabia for the entire analysis period, while it increased in the most recent decade. On a monthly scale, the most significant increase (5.44 mm decade<sup>−1</sup>) is observed in November and the largest decrease (1.20 mm decade<sup>−1</sup>) in January. The frequency of intense rainfall events is increasing for the majority of stations over Saudi Arabia, while the frequency of weak events is decreasing. More extreme rainfall events are occurring in the northwest, east, and southwest regions of Saudi Arabia. A daily rainfall of ≥ 26 mm is identified as the threshold for an extreme event. It is found that the contribution of extreme events to the total rainfall amount varies from region to region and season to season. The most considerable contribution (up to 56%) is found in the southern region in June. Regionally, significant contribution comes from the coastal region, where extreme events contribute, on average, 47% of the total rainfall each month from October to February, with the largest (53%) in November. For the entire country, extreme rainfall contributes most (52%) in November and least (20%) in July, while contributions from different stations are in the 8–50% range of the total rainfall. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:26:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-908d4a19052b4f678d29800ed97249d2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4433 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:26:37Z |
| publishDate | 2020-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Atmosphere |
| spelling | doaj.art-908d4a19052b4f678d29800ed97249d22023-11-20T13:12:16ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332020-09-0111996410.3390/atmos11090964Rainfall Trends and Extremes in Saudi Arabia in Recent DecadesMansour Almazroui0Center of Excellence for Climate Change Research/Department of Meteorology, King Abdulaziz University, P. O. Box 80208, Jeddah 21589, Saudi ArabiaThe observed records of recent decades show increased economic damage associated with flash flooding in different regions of Saudi Arabia. An increase in extreme rainfall events may cause severe repercussions for the socio-economic sectors of the country. The present study investigated the observed rainfall trends and associated extremes over Saudi Arabia for the 42-year period of 1978–2019. It measured the contribution of extreme events to the total rainfall and calculated the changes to mean and extreme rainfall events over five different climate regions of Saudi Arabia. Rainfall indices were constructed by estimating the extreme characteristics associated with daily rainfall frequency and intensity. The analysis reveals that the annual rainfall is decreasing (5.89 mm decade<sup>−1</sup>, significant at the 90% level) over Saudi Arabia for the entire analysis period, while it increased in the most recent decade. On a monthly scale, the most significant increase (5.44 mm decade<sup>−1</sup>) is observed in November and the largest decrease (1.20 mm decade<sup>−1</sup>) in January. The frequency of intense rainfall events is increasing for the majority of stations over Saudi Arabia, while the frequency of weak events is decreasing. More extreme rainfall events are occurring in the northwest, east, and southwest regions of Saudi Arabia. A daily rainfall of ≥ 26 mm is identified as the threshold for an extreme event. It is found that the contribution of extreme events to the total rainfall amount varies from region to region and season to season. The most considerable contribution (up to 56%) is found in the southern region in June. Regionally, significant contribution comes from the coastal region, where extreme events contribute, on average, 47% of the total rainfall each month from October to February, with the largest (53%) in November. For the entire country, extreme rainfall contributes most (52%) in November and least (20%) in July, while contributions from different stations are in the 8–50% range of the total rainfall.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/11/9/964extreme rainfall eventsfrequencyextreme rainfall contributionSaudi Arabia |
| spellingShingle | Mansour Almazroui Rainfall Trends and Extremes in Saudi Arabia in Recent Decades Atmosphere extreme rainfall events frequency extreme rainfall contribution Saudi Arabia |
| title | Rainfall Trends and Extremes in Saudi Arabia in Recent Decades |
| title_full | Rainfall Trends and Extremes in Saudi Arabia in Recent Decades |
| title_fullStr | Rainfall Trends and Extremes in Saudi Arabia in Recent Decades |
| title_full_unstemmed | Rainfall Trends and Extremes in Saudi Arabia in Recent Decades |
| title_short | Rainfall Trends and Extremes in Saudi Arabia in Recent Decades |
| title_sort | rainfall trends and extremes in saudi arabia in recent decades |
| topic | extreme rainfall events frequency extreme rainfall contribution Saudi Arabia |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/11/9/964 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mansouralmazroui rainfalltrendsandextremesinsaudiarabiainrecentdecades |