Abstract:
The precipitation in the Himalayan region is very crucial for the socio-economic
well-being of large human population in South Asia as this is the major source of
water for most of the perennial rivers in the region like the Ganga, Yamuna, Indus
and Brahmaputra River. The Indian summer monsoon (ISM) is the chief source of
precipitation in eastern and central Himalaya, and western Himalaya also receives
a significant part of moisture by the Mid latitude westerlies (MLW). The changes
in the ISM intensity or onset/retrieval in past led to the loss of lives of humans,
cattles and property by widespread droughts associated with famines and disastrous
floods. But the frequency of these extreme precipitation events in past and their
forcing mechanisms are not fully understood due to lack of long term
meteorological observations and high resolution paleoclimate records from
continental areas in South Asia and especially from the Himalayan region. The last
few decades have witnessed several extreme precipitation events in the Indian
subcontinent along with the Himalayan region.
