Wagh et al. (2026) Comparative evaluation of eight simplified potential evapotranspiration methods against the FAO-56 penman–monteith benchmark in the Jayakwadi Command Area, Maharashtra, India: a seasonal and spatial analysis

Identification

• Journal: Frontiers in Water
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-09-09
• Authors: Snehal Wagh, Kailas Patil
• DOI: 10.3389/frwa.2026.1923575

Research Groups

• Civil Engineering Department, College of Engineering Pune Technological University, Pune, India
• Civil Engineering Department, MIT Academy of Engineering, Alandi, Pune, India

Short Summary

This study evaluates the performance of eight simplified empirical potential evapotranspiration (ET0) methods against the FAO-56 Penman-Monteith benchmark in the Jayakwadi Command Area, Maharashtra, India. The results show that radiation-based models outperform temperature-based models, with Abtew and Makkink being the top-performing models.

Objective

• Evaluate the accuracy of eight simplified empirical ET0 methods against the FAO-56 PM benchmark across annual and four seasonal time scales (spring, summer, autumn, winter) in the Head Reach Zone of the JCA.
• Identify season-specific best-performing models using a multi-metric evaluation framework comprising NSE, Re, NRMSE, R2, and PBIAS.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Jayakwadi Command Area (JCA), Maharashtra, India
• Temporal Scale: 34-year monthly synthetic dataset (1990–2024)

Methodology and Data

• Models used:
  • FAO-56 Penman-Monteith (benchmark)
  • Hargreaves-Samani (HS)
  • Hamon (Ham)
  • Priestley-Taylor (PT)
  • Linacre (Lin)
  • Makkink (Mak)
  • Abtew (Abt)
  • Thornthwaite (Tho)
  • Blaney-Criddle (BC)
• Data sources:
  • India Meteorological Department (IMD) climatological statistics
  • NASA-POWER Version 8 surface meteorology reanalysis time series

Main Results

• Radiation-based models outperform temperature-based models.
• Abtew and Makkink are the top-performing models across all seasons.
• Temperature-only models perform unsatisfactorily.

Contributions

• This study provides an evaluation of simplified ET0 methods in a semi-arid irrigation command area, which is essential for operational irrigation management.
• The results highlight the importance of considering season-specific performance when selecting empirical ET0 methods.

Funding

• Not specified

Citation

@article{Wagh2026Comparative,
  author = {Wagh, Snehal and Patil, Kailas},
  title = {Comparative evaluation of eight simplified potential evapotranspiration methods against the FAO-56 penman–monteith benchmark in the Jayakwadi Command Area, Maharashtra, India: a seasonal and spatial analysis},
  journal = {Frontiers in Water},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.3389/frwa.2026.1923575},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/frwa.2026.1923575}
}