7 February Chamoli (Uttarakhand, India) Rock-Ice Avalanche Disaster: Model-Simulated Prevailing Meteorological Conditions
The present study aims to analyze the high-resolution model-simulated meteorological conditions during the Chamoli rock-ice avalanche event, which occurred on 7 February 2021 in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, India (30.37° N, 79.73° E). The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model is used...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-02-01
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| Series: | Atmosphere |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/13/2/267 |
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| author | Piyush Srivastava Prabhakar Namdev Praveen Kumar Singh |
| author_facet | Piyush Srivastava Prabhakar Namdev Praveen Kumar Singh |
| author_sort | Piyush Srivastava |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The present study aims to analyze the high-resolution model-simulated meteorological conditions during the Chamoli rock-ice avalanche event, which occurred on 7 February 2021 in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, India (30.37° N, 79.73° E). The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model is used to simulate the spatiotemporal distribution of meteorological variables pre- and post-event. The numerical simulations are carried out over two fine resolution nested model domains covering the Uttarakhand region over a period of 2 weeks (2 February to 13 February 2021). The model-simulated meteorological variables, e.g., air temperature, surface temperature, turbulent heat flux, radiative fluxes, heat and momentum transfer coefficients, specific humidity and upper wind patterns, were found to show significant departures from their usual patterns starting from 72 h until a few hours before the rock-ice avalanche event. The average 2 m air and surface temperatures near the avalanche site during the 48 h before the event were found to be much lower than the average temperatures post-event. In-situ observations and the ERA5-Land dataset also confirm these findings. The total turbulent heat flux mostly remained downward (negative) in the 72 h before the event and was found to have an exceptionally large negative value a few hours before the rock-ice avalanche event. The model-simulated rainfall and Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM, IMERG)-derived rainfall suggest that the part of the Himalayan region falling in the simulation domain received a significant amount of rainfall on 4 February, around 48 h prior to the event, while the rest of the days pre- and post-event were mostly dry. The results presented here might be helpful in further studies to identify the possible trigger factors of this event. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:38:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e769fb65c986412392f2826ae8335fc4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4433 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:38:11Z |
| publishDate | 2022-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Atmosphere |
| spelling | doaj.art-e769fb65c986412392f2826ae8335fc42023-11-23T18:45:00ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332022-02-0113226710.3390/atmos130202677 February Chamoli (Uttarakhand, India) Rock-Ice Avalanche Disaster: Model-Simulated Prevailing Meteorological ConditionsPiyush Srivastava0Prabhakar Namdev1Praveen Kumar Singh2Centre of Excellence in Disaster Mitigation and Management, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee 247667, IndiaCentre for Atmospheric Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Delhi 110016, IndiaCentre of Excellence in Disaster Mitigation and Management, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee 247667, IndiaThe present study aims to analyze the high-resolution model-simulated meteorological conditions during the Chamoli rock-ice avalanche event, which occurred on 7 February 2021 in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, India (30.37° N, 79.73° E). The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model is used to simulate the spatiotemporal distribution of meteorological variables pre- and post-event. The numerical simulations are carried out over two fine resolution nested model domains covering the Uttarakhand region over a period of 2 weeks (2 February to 13 February 2021). The model-simulated meteorological variables, e.g., air temperature, surface temperature, turbulent heat flux, radiative fluxes, heat and momentum transfer coefficients, specific humidity and upper wind patterns, were found to show significant departures from their usual patterns starting from 72 h until a few hours before the rock-ice avalanche event. The average 2 m air and surface temperatures near the avalanche site during the 48 h before the event were found to be much lower than the average temperatures post-event. In-situ observations and the ERA5-Land dataset also confirm these findings. The total turbulent heat flux mostly remained downward (negative) in the 72 h before the event and was found to have an exceptionally large negative value a few hours before the rock-ice avalanche event. The model-simulated rainfall and Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM, IMERG)-derived rainfall suggest that the part of the Himalayan region falling in the simulation domain received a significant amount of rainfall on 4 February, around 48 h prior to the event, while the rest of the days pre- and post-event were mostly dry. The results presented here might be helpful in further studies to identify the possible trigger factors of this event.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/13/2/267Indian Himalayameteorologynatural disasterWRF model |
| spellingShingle | Piyush Srivastava Prabhakar Namdev Praveen Kumar Singh 7 February Chamoli (Uttarakhand, India) Rock-Ice Avalanche Disaster: Model-Simulated Prevailing Meteorological Conditions Atmosphere Indian Himalaya meteorology natural disaster WRF model |
| title | 7 February Chamoli (Uttarakhand, India) Rock-Ice Avalanche Disaster: Model-Simulated Prevailing Meteorological Conditions |
| title_full | 7 February Chamoli (Uttarakhand, India) Rock-Ice Avalanche Disaster: Model-Simulated Prevailing Meteorological Conditions |
| title_fullStr | 7 February Chamoli (Uttarakhand, India) Rock-Ice Avalanche Disaster: Model-Simulated Prevailing Meteorological Conditions |
| title_full_unstemmed | 7 February Chamoli (Uttarakhand, India) Rock-Ice Avalanche Disaster: Model-Simulated Prevailing Meteorological Conditions |
| title_short | 7 February Chamoli (Uttarakhand, India) Rock-Ice Avalanche Disaster: Model-Simulated Prevailing Meteorological Conditions |
| title_sort | 7 february chamoli uttarakhand india rock ice avalanche disaster model simulated prevailing meteorological conditions |
| topic | Indian Himalaya meteorology natural disaster WRF model |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/13/2/267 |
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