Bhattarai et al. (2026) Do the Wettest Days Occur Together? A Global Analysis on Disentangling Precipitation Intensity From Seasonal Timing

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Earth and Space Science
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-04-01
• Authors: Saurav Bhattarai, Nawa Raj Pradhan, Rocky Talchabhadel
• DOI: 10.1029/2025ea004845

Research Groups

Not available from the abstract.

Short Summary

This study introduces a novel framework to analyze precipitation patterns by distinguishing between the number of wettest individual days and the minimum number of consecutive days contributing to annual totals. It reveals that these two dimensions evolve independently across global land surfaces, with significant regional variations impacting flood risk, drought duration, and water storage.

Objective

• To introduce a framework that separates two fundamental aspects of precipitation patterns: how many of the wettest individual days contribute to annual totals versus what is the minimum number of consecutive days required to reach the same totals, and to analyze their global evolution and implications.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Global land surfaces
• Temporal Scale: 1980–2024 (45 years)

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Not applicable; analysis based on reanalysis data.
• Data sources: ERA5 reanalysis data

Main Results

• The two dimensions of precipitation patterns (scattered wettest days vs. consecutive wet periods) evolve independently.
• The Amazon Basin shows 15%–18% fewer days needed through both approaches, indicating more concentrated and more consecutive precipitation.
• Continental regions like eastern North America show 12%–25% increases, indicating more scattered and less consecutive precipitation.
• Monsoon regions demonstrate strong alignment between wettest days and consecutive periods, signifying concentrated rainy seasons.
• Mid-latitude regions exhibit large misalignments, indicating scattered precipitation patterns.
• Identical changes in precipitation intensity can produce opposite changes in seasonal timing, which is critical for flood risk, drought duration, and water storage, a distinction missed by traditional extreme event indices.

Contributions

• Introduces a novel framework for analyzing precipitation patterns that goes beyond traditional extreme event or total amount analyses.
• Quantifies and distinguishes between the contribution of scattered wettest days and consecutive wet periods to annual precipitation totals.
• Demonstrates the independent evolution of these two precipitation dimensions globally, highlighting their distinct implications for water resource management.
• Provides critical insights into regional variations of precipitation concentration and consecutiveness, which are vital for understanding flood risk, drought duration, and water storage.

Funding

Not available from the abstract.

Citation

@article{Bhattarai2026Do,
  author = {Bhattarai, Saurav and Pradhan, Nawa Raj and Talchabhadel, Rocky},
  title = {Do the Wettest Days Occur Together? A Global Analysis on Disentangling Precipitation Intensity From Seasonal Timing},
  journal = {Earth and Space Science},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1029/2025ea004845},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1029/2025ea004845}
}