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Was the July 1981 rainstorm over Rajasthan unprecedented?

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Abstract

The rainstorm of 17 to 21 July 1981 which caused exceptionally heavy rains and floods in arid Rajasthan, was analysed. It was observed that 7 stations in the rainstorm area broke their previous 80-year record of one-day rainfall, and two of these stations equalled their respective estimates of probable maximum precipitation (PMP). A comparison of areal raindepths of this rainstorm with the similar raindepths of past severe-most rainstorms of this region showed that this rainstorm gave unprecedented raindepths up to about 38 850 sq. km (i.e. 15 000 sq. miles) for a 3-day duration.

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Dhar, O.N., Rakhecha, P.R., Mandal, B.N. et al. Was the July 1981 rainstorm over Rajasthan unprecedented?. PAGEOPH 120, 483–494 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00879831

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00879831

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