Rainfall Estimation Techniques over India and Adjoining Oceanic Regions

Rainfall estimates have relevance in meteorology, hydrology, agriculture and climate change studies. Near real-time accurate rainfall information at fine spatial and temporal scale is important in the context of occurrence of recent flood events over the Indian region. Poor rain gauge and radar network limit this information over India. Satellites offer an opportunity to measure rainfall over India and the adjoining oceanic region. Available global rainfall products show poor performance for measuring rainfall over a topographically complex region like India. During the past few decades, efforts have been made to improve rainfall estimates over the Indian region. This study aims to provide a broad overview of these advancements, to emphasize on the evaluation of rainfall estimation techniques over India.