Examining the Differences in Extreme Precipitation and Convective Events and Their Variations in Bangladesh and Eastern India

Bangladesh and Eastern India are two of the wettest regions across the globe, yet still display a large variation in precipitation and convection despite the two regions being close in proximity in Southeast of Asia. This study examines these differences as well as comparing events diurnally and seasonally.

In the two regions, mesoscale convective features are examined. This include the diurnal and seasonal variation of precipitation systems over the two regions, and their contributions to the total precipitation and cloud fractions. It is determined that the Eastern India region receives much more rain event samples annually, but much less convective events each year. In addition, several extreme events from each region between 2002-2012 are selected. Volumetric rain, max height cloud tops, flash counts among other parameters are examined for the events from each region. Two extreme events over Bangladesh and Eastern India are analyzed in a greater detail, including looking at the vertical cross section and atmospheric soundings for these events. ERA-Interim data, including the variables CAPE, T, H, RH, U, V, W and equivalent potential temperature, are examined to demonstrate the differences between the two regions in their thermodynamic and kinematic environments.

Data for this study are primarily obtained from the Precipitation Feature database website. Most of the figures are generated via online software.