Variability of integrated precipitable water over India in a warming climate

Changes in precipitation patterns as a result of increased atmospheric water vapour in a warming environment over the Indian region have been reported in the past few decades. However, these studies have not focused much on exploring the changes in atmospheric water vapour in a changing climate. The present study focuses on examining the variability of integrated precipitable water (IPW) over the Indian region derived from the Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research and Application (MERRA 2) model in a warming environment. The results suggest that the IPW has increased significantly in recent decades. Changes in the IPW are consistent with changes in regional warming over India. The results also point out an increase of about 4.98% +/- 1.26% in the IPW for a 1 degrees C increase in regional warming. The variability of IPW has been examined in a warming climate. An increase in regional temperature shows coherent variation with IPW. A decadal increase of about 1.69% has been reported in the IPW.