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Spatial trends of dry spells over Peninsular Malaysia during monsoon seasons

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Abstract

This study aims to trace changes in the dry spells over Peninsular Malaysia based on the daily rainfall data from 36 selected rainfall stations which include four subregions, namely northwest, west, southwest, and east for the periods of 1975 to 2004. Six dry spell indices comprising of the main characteristics of dry spells, the persistency of dry events, and the frequency of the short and long duration of dry spells will be used to identify whether or not these indices have increased or decreased over Peninsular Malaysia during the monsoon seasons. The findings of this study indicate that the northwestern areas of the Peninsular could be considered as the driest area since almost all the indices of dry spells over these areas are higher than in the other regions during the northeast (NE) monsoon. Based on the individual and the field significant trends, the results of the Mann–Kendall test indicate that as the total number of dry days, the maximum duration, the mean, and the persistency of dry days are decreased, the trend of the frequency of long dry spells of at least 4 days is also found to decrease in almost all the stations over the Peninsula; however, an increasing trend is observed in the frequency of short spells in these stations during the NE monsoon season. On the other hand, during the southwest monsoon, a positive trend is observed in the characteristics of dry spells including the persistency of two dry days in many stations over the Peninsula. The frequency of longer dry periods exhibits a decreasing trend in most stations over the western areas during both monsoon seasons for the periods of 1975 to 2004.

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Acknowledgment

The authors are indebted to the staff of the Drainage and Irrigation Department and Malaysian Meteorological Department for providing the daily rainfall data for this study. This research would not have been possible without the sponsorship from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). They also acknowledge their sincere appreciation to Prof. Dr. Hartmut Grassl and both reviewers for their valuable suggestions and remarks which improved the manuscript. This research was funded by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM-GUP-PI-08-34-318).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Statistical Studies, Faculty of Computer and Mathematical Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), 40450, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia

    Sayang Mohd Deni

  2. Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), 81310, Skudai, Johor, Malaysia

    Jamaludin Suhaila

  3. School of Mathematical Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

    Wan Zawiah Wan Zin & Abdul Aziz Jemain

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  1. Sayang Mohd Deni
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  2. Jamaludin Suhaila
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  3. Wan Zawiah Wan Zin
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  4. Abdul Aziz Jemain
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Correspondence to Sayang Mohd Deni.

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Deni, S.M., Suhaila, J., Wan Zin, W.Z. et al. Spatial trends of dry spells over Peninsular Malaysia during monsoon seasons. Theor Appl Climatol 99, 357–371 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-009-0147-4

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