Pure Appl. Geophys.

Ó 2025 The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-025-03761-8 Pure and Applied Geophysics

Reflectivity-Rain Rate Relationship for Orographic Rainfall at Mahabaleshwar Over

the Indian Western Ghats
AMIT KUMAR,1,2 ATUL KUMAR SRIVASTAVA,1 KAUSTAV CHAKRAVARTY,1 and MANOJ KUMAR SRIVASTAVA2

Abstract—The reflectivity (Z)-rain rate (R) relationship is 1. Introduction

crucial for describing the microphysical characteristics of precipi-
tating clouds and plays a vital role in assessing the performance of
polarimetric Doppler radar and rain gauge measurements. For the Rainfall occurrence is a vital phenomenon in the
first-time, the power-law Z-R relationship (Z¼ aRb ) is determined tropical region, affecting the regional climate, water
for stratiform and convective rainfall during the pre-monsoon,
resources, agriculture, and economic activities. High
monsoon, and post-monsoon seasons at Mahabaleshwar, a tropical
station in the Western Ghats, using the in-situ Joss-Waldvogel dependence on agriculture in India and seasonal
Disdrometer (JWD) measurements from 2014 to 2019 at the High- rainfall characteristics directly influence rural liveli-
Altitude Cloud Physics Laboratory (HACPL: 17.56 oN, 73.4 hoods, food security, and overall economic stability.
o
E; * 1400 m above MSL). The proportion of convective pre-
cipitation to the total precipitation during the pre-monsoon, The spatial and temporal distribution of rainfall has
monsoon, and post-monsoon seasons are * 42%, 53%, and 27%, several controlling parameters, like large-scale cir-
respectively. The Z-R equation was derived using the linear culation, mesoscale atmospheric processes,
regression method for different seasons and rain types. Pearson
correlation coefficient between Z and R is high (r [ 0.90) in all
topography, altitude, local atmospheric forces, and
three seasons. The analysis shows that derived Z-R equations season (Guhathakurta & Rajeevan, 2008; Kumar
overestimate the value of Z for the rain events having R \ 10 mm/ et al., 2010). However, over the mountainous region,
hr and underestimate for R C 10 mm/hr. Notably, the Z-R equation
the uneven variation in topography and altitude are
for the Western Ghats differs from those reported for mid-latitude
and oceanic regions, reflecting the strong influence of regional the additional factors affecting peculiar rainfall pat-
topography, season and rain microphysics on precipitation char- terns (Chakravarty et al., 2021; Choudhury et al.,
acteristics. The coefficients ‘‘a’’ and ‘‘b’’ of the derived Z-R 2019; Houze, 2012). The moist air near the mountain
equation show substantial variation with season and rain type in
comparison to the earlier studies at Gadanki and Tirupati due to travels upward due to the orographic lifting and
differences in local atmospheric dynamics and complex orographic becomes a precipitating cloud (Konwar et al., 2014).
effects. The region-specific Z-R relationship may improve the Considerable alteration at the micro level happens in
radar-based rainfall estimations and also our understanding for rain
microphysics over the Western Ghats.
the precipitating cloud over the mountainous region,
which modifies the orographic rainfall (Kumar et al.,
Keywords: Disdrometer, Z-R relationship, Drop size distri- 2010). Mahabaleshwar, located on the windward side
bution, Western Ghats, Rainfall.
of the coastal mountainous range along the west coast
of India, i.e. Western Ghats, is one of the highest
accumulated rainfall receivers in India (Guhathakurta
& Rajeevan, 2008). The maximum rainfall occurs
over the region is mainly due to shallow precipitating
clouds (Das et al., 2017). In the meantime, the lee-
ward side of the coastal mountainous range, formed
the rain shadow region, and receives less rainfall. The
hilly or mountainous topography impedes the move-
1
ment of the precipitating cloud on the leeward side.
Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Ministry of Earth
Sciences, New Delhi, India. E-mail: [email protected]
However, deep convective clouds developed over the
2
Department of Geophysics, Banaras Hindu University,
Varanasi, India.

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 A. K. Srivastava et al. Pure Appl. Geophys.

top of the Western Ghats typically cause rainfall on Bigger raindrop concentration increases with altitude
the leeward side (Konwar et al., 2010). depending on the accelerated collision-coalescence
When an air mass from the Arabian Sea moves in process. Further, variations of DSD can also be
the eastern direction and knocks the mountain range obtained from Chakravarty et al. (2024) where the
(the Western Ghats) perpendicularly, by orographic clear distinction between DSDs over the orographic
lifting, a cloud system forms and is pushed in the and coastal stations of India are distinctly visible
upward direction (Konwar et al., 2014). The cloud during the pre-monsoon and monsoon season of
system completely transforms into a precipitating Indian summer monsoon.
cloud and causes orographic precipitation. The per- DSD is vital when computing Doppler radar-re-
centage and rate of alteration in the rising cloud lated rain parameters and comprehending the process
systems depend on several factors, such as moisture of rain droplet development. The reflectivity of
content, wind speed and direction, rain type, and Doppler radar translated into the rain rate. The power
season. Some past studies reported that the droplet equation between Z and R substantially minimizes
size distribution (DSD), an essential attribute of rain error in the radar-derived quantitative precipitation
microphysics, is quantified by the number concen- estimate (QPE). Radar reflectivity recorded at dif-
tration of raindrops with diameter. Its variability is ferent altitudes with changing ranges cannot
correlated with dynamic and microphysical pro- accurately depict surface precipitation due to the low
cesses, like evaporation, break-up, and coalescence accuracy of radar-derived QPE products. Conse-
(Rosenfeld & Ulbrich, 2003; Testud et al., 2001). The quently, determining accurate QPEs of seasonal and
DSD description is used to calculate parameters like orographic precipitation necessitates selecting the
rain rate, liquid water content, and reflectivity. It is appropriate Z-R equation at that location. It enhances
crucial for microphysical parameterization in the interpretation of polarimetric Doppler radar data,
numerical models. Several factors, such as season, allowing meteorologists to accurately assess precipi-
latitude, precipitating rain type, rain rate, and tation intensity and distribution. Different rain types,
topography, play a decisive role in the trend and such as convective and stratiform, exhibit distinct Z-
distribution of DSD at any measurement location R relationships, providing insights into the micro-
(Bringi et al., 2003). In a recent study, seasonal physical processes governing these precipitation
variation in DSD across the Western Ghats region has types. Understanding these relationships can enhance
been examined using data from the Global Precipi- rainfall forecasting, leading to more reliable predic-
tation Measurement satellite, providing insights into tions. At the same time, rain gauges do not provide
how these factors influence microphysical properties in-depth precipitation microphysics. Surface-based
of raindrops (Kumar et al., 2025). At the same time, instruments like the disdrometer provide realistic
the variability in DSD associated with the stratiform DSD, capable of recording low to high-intensity
and convective cloud is found distinct at Maha- precipitation, which is used to improve QPE
baleshwar (Kumar et al., 2022a, 2022b). Konwar accuracy.
et al., (2014) discussed the occurrence of dominant Compared to the continental region, the DSD
microphysical processes variation with the rain-in- features of the precipitating cloud over the marine
tensity. Low-intensity rainfall at Mahabaleshwar is time zone are noticeably different (Bringi et al.,
associated with bimodal DSD, while mono-modal 2003). They also observed that the rain droplet
DSD is observed during the intense rainfall, with diameter of the marine cloud is more than that of the
increased contribution of the collision-coalescence continental cloud. The broader gamma distribution
process. Kumar et al., (2022a, 2022b) depicted the and bigger rain droplets are observed during the
fluctuation in the vertical profile of DSD during the convective precipitation across the continental
evolution, maturation and dissipation stages of the region. However, a narrower gamma distribution and
bright band in the monsoon season, based on simul- significant concentration of smaller-sized rain dro-
taneous micro rain radar observation at different plets are observed for marine precipitating clouds.
altitudes on the windward side of the Western Ghats. Kozu et al., (2006) examined the surface-based

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 Reflectivity-rain rate relationship for orographic rainfall

observation of the DSD characteristics across three In the present study, we examined the Joss-
climatologically distinct Asian cities at different lat- Waldvogel Disdrometer (JWD) measurements col-
itudes. They observed that the DSD characteristics lected in the core region of the Indian Western Ghats
varied with the latitude. Significant fluctuation in at Mahabaleshwar. Orographic precipitation occur-
DSD is also reported throughout the dry and wet ring in the pre-monsoon (March, April, and May),
spells of the monsoon season (Murali et al., 2021). monsoon (June, July, August, and September), and
Microphysical characteristics of cyclonic clouds post-monsoon (October and November) seasons are
formed in the Arabian Sea were examined using the analyzed to establish the appropriate Z-R equation
Global Precipitation Measurement satellite, showing over the region to comprehend the dynamical and
considerable variation in DSD parameters (Kumar microphysical processes of rain droplets formation.
et al., 2023). In order to comprehend the micro- Furthermore, the influence of the type of precipitating
physical processes taking place in the precipitating cloud on variations in the Z-R equation is examined.
cloud, DSD information is crucial for it. It is to be This study may significantly improve the orographic
noted here that surface-based instruments like precipitation forecast and measurement of accumu-
polarimetric Doppler radar and disdrometer are the lated rainfall over the region.
important in extracting the DSD information associ-
ated with the precipitating cloud.
Power-law equation, i.e., Z¼ aRb , is developed 2. Data and Methodology
using the Z and R parameters (Boodoo et al., 2015;
Seliga & Bringi, 1976) to investigate the micro- JWD is an impact-based disdrometer that mea-
physical characteristics of precipitating clouds. Many sures rain droplet concentrations of different sizes
earlier studies have shown that the constant ‘‘a’’ and during different rain events (Joss & Waldvogel,
‘‘b’’ values change with the type of rain, season, 1969). The instrument is mounted on the rooftop of
latitude, and landmass. In order to understand the the High-Altitude Cloud Physics Laboratory
precipitating cloud characteristics in India, the Z-R (HACPL), Mahabaleshwar
 
equation was initially determined in Gadanki, in (17:56 N; 73:4 E;  1400maboveMSL), one of the
southern peninsular India (Rao et al., 2001). They heavy precipitation areas of the Western Ghats in
derived the Z-R equation for the convective India. The topography of the Western Ghats and
(Z = 178R1.51), stratiform (Z = 251R1.48), and tran- surrounding regions is depicted in Fig. 1, along with
sition (Z = 162R1.44) clouds based on the combined the location of HACPL (shown by a blue star in the
measurements of wind profiler, disdrometer, and black rectangle), where all JWD measurements were
MST radar systems. Sulochana et al. (2016) exam- carried out. The JWD measurement during the oro-
ined the disdrometer observations collected around graphic rainfall at Mahabaleshwar between 2014 and
Tirupati’s foothills region of the Nallamala mountain 2019 is examined to derive the Z-R equation during
range. They derive the Z-R equation for convective the pre-monsoon, monsoon, and post-monsoon sea-
and stratiform clouds during the north-east and south- sons. JWD measures raindrops with a diameter
west monsoon seasons. The Z-R equation is used not between 0.359 and 5.5 mm in 20 different-size bins
only to understand the microphysical characteristics with a temporal resolution of 60 s. The bin resolution
of a precipitating cloud at any location but also to width increases logarithmically with droplet diame-
calibrate the polarimetric Doppler radar and weather ter, ensuring that small and large rain droplets are
satellite. It provides an insight into the precipitating captured accurately. The width is finer for smaller
cloud and explains the occurrence of various micro- rain droplets, while larger drops are grouped into
physical processes. Furthermore, the Z-R equation wider bins (Seela et al., 2018). A well-defined bin
derived from disdrometer measurement can be used resolution is essential for accurately deriving the
to verify the accuracy and credibility of the rainfall reflectivity-rain rate relationship and improving our
derived from the back-scattered reflectivity of the understanding of rainfall microphysics, particularly
polarimetric Doppler radar.

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 A. K. Srivastava et al. Pure Appl. Geophys.

Figure 1
The topography map of the Western Ghats and surrounding regions of India. The study location for the High-Altitude Cloud Physics
Laboratory (HACPL), Mahabaleshwar, is marked by a blue star in the black rectangle box

in orographic regions like the Western Ghats, where The mathematical formulae for other rain-integral
the study was conducted. parameters are:
The recorded data are used to calculate rain-in- Z Dmax
tegral parameters like rain rate (R: mm/hr), N t ð1=m3 Þ ¼ N ðDÞdD ð3Þ
Dmin
reflectivity (Z: dBZ), total number concentration (Nt:
1/m3), mass-weighted mean diameter (Dm: mm), and DRmax
normalized intercept parameter (Nw: 1/m3 mm). D4 N ðDÞdD
Dmin
As R and Z are proportional to the third and sixth Dm ðmmÞ ¼ R Dmax 3 ð4Þ
power of the rain droplet’s diameter (Joss & Wald- Dmin D N ðDÞdD

vogel, 1969), respectively, it can be formulated as: Z Dmax

p  pw
DZmax
LWCðg=m3 Þ ¼ NðDÞD3 dD ð5Þ
6 Dmin
ZðdBZÞ ¼ N ðDÞD6 dD ð1Þ
44 LWC
Dmin N w ð1=m3 mmÞ ¼ ð Þ ð6Þ
p  pw Dm 4
Z Dmax
1
Rðmm=hrÞ ¼ NðDÞD3 VðDÞdD ð2Þ pw is representing water density (1000 kg/m3). The
6p Dmin detailed derivation of rain-integral parameters from
where, N(D) denoting the number concentration of the JWD measurement is given in Kumar et al.,
rain droplets having diameter, D, and V(D) is the (2022a, 2022b).
falling velocity of the rain droplet.

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 Reflectivity-rain rate relationship for orographic rainfall

The availability of JWD observation at high having R \ 10 mm/hr (Fig. 2(b)). From Fig. 2(c) and
temporal resolution is used for the investigation of (d), the considerable volume of liquid water is pri-
microphysical (Rosenfeld & Ulbrich, 2003) and marily produced by the high concentration of
dynamical characteristics of rainfall (Houze, 2014), raindrops falling at a velocity of less than 10 mm/hr.
for separating stratiform and convective rainfall It can be noticed from Fig. 2(e) that the average
(Bringi et al., 2003) to study the influence of rainfall diameter of a raindrop (Dm) is 1 mm, whereas
on surface runoff (Smith et al., 2009) and soil erosion Dm \ 1.5 mm accounts for * 75% of the total dis-
(Angulo-Martı́nez & Barros, 2015), helpful in better tribution. All three seasons are experiencing a shift in
understanding the precipitation microphysics. Despite the concentration of raindrops with diameter. The
many advantages, JWD has some considerable limi- concentrations of small raindrops are higher in the
tations. Raindrop diameter \ 0.359 mm is recorded monsoon season, and for bigger raindrops, it is lower.
as noise, while bigger raindrops of diameter greater This number distribution is illustrated in Fig. 2(f) by
than 5.5 mm are documented in the Dmax bin. Also, the shift in log10Nw parameters from small to larger
the JWD cannot take measurements for a concise values.
duration, known as dead time (Sauvageot & Lacaux,
1995). However, the dead time correction is less than
3.1. Classification of Convective and Stratiform
3% on the measured values (Tokay & Short, 1996).
Precipitation
Considering this, we do not apply any dead time
correction on the measurement. Only the JWD mea- The DSD characteristics of precipitating clouds
surement recorded during the study period, fulfilling are altered via various microphysical processes, and
the rain event criteria (R [ 0.1 mm/hr and number of DSD parameters Dm and log10Nw relationship can be
observed rain droplets [ 10), was considered for the employed to comprehend it (Dolan et al., 2018).
analysis. Bringi et al. (2009) devised a method for separating
the convective and stratiform precipitation based on
the Dm and log10Nw relation. For this reason, only
3. Results and Discussion 10-min continuous rain events are considered to
segregate the precipitating cloud into stratiform and
The probability distribution function (PDF) of the convective. The scatter plot between Dm and log10Nw
rain-integral parameters like Z, log10R, log10Nt, with the variation of R represented by the colour
log10LWC, Dm, and log10Nw during the pre-monsoon, distribution is shown in Fig. 3. A linear line (black
monsoon, and post-monsoon seasons during the colour) was drawn according to Bringi et al. (2009) to
entire measurement period is shown in Fig. 2. The distinguish between convective and stratiform pre-
distribution is based on the recorded rain events of cipitation during the pre-monsoon, monsoon, and
around 2966, 172,023, and 7993 during the pre- post-monsoon seasons. The lower segment of drawn
monsoon, monsoon, and post-monsoon seasons, black line shows precipitation from the stratiform
respectively for the entire study period between 2014 cloud. The Dm-log10Nw value related to the convec-
and 2019. The number of rain events in the monsoon tive precipitation lies in the upper segment. The
season is considerably larger than in other seasons. scatter point density is higher in the lower segment
The monsoon season is a primary source of accu- than the upper segment, indicating that stratiform
mulated precipitation over the Western Ghats rainfall has a maximum contribution to seasonal
(Guhathakurta & Rajeevan, 2008; Mondal et al., rainfall occurrence. High Z and R at the time of
2015). The rain-integral characteristics clearly show convective precipitation signifies an occurrence of
significant seasonal differences in all the parameters. intense rainfall containing bigger droplets (Kumar
Figure 2(a) shows that over 80% of rain events pro- et al., 2022a, 2022b). At the same time, stratiform
duce log10Z less than 3.5 dBZ in all three seasons. precipitation occurs for a longer duration, with a low
However, it is found to be * 91% in pre-monsoon, R-value and a considerable concentration of smaller
83% in monsoon, and 75% in post-monsoon rainfall,

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 A. K. Srivastava et al. Pure Appl. Geophys.

Figure 2
The probability distribution function (PDF) a reflectivity, Z (dBZ), b rain rate, log10R (mm/hr), c total number concentration, log10Nt (1/m3),
d liquid water content, log10LWC (g/m3), e mass-weighted mean diameter, Dm (mm), and normalized intercept parameter, log10Nw (m3/mm)
during the pre-monsoon, monsoon, and post-monsoon season, based on JWD measurement taken at HACPL (High Altitude Cloud Physics
Laboratory, Mahabaleshwar) from 2014 to 2019

droplets. It is probably the impact of microphysical points represents the Z-R equation. Colour codifica-
processes, altering the DSD of a precipitating cloud. tion denotes the rain droplet diameter (Dm). The
value of the Pearson correlation is around 0.94 in the
monsoon for both stratiform and convective precip-
3.2. Derivation of Reflectivity-Rain Rate
itation, and in other seasons, it exceeded 0.90, which
Equation for Stratiform and Convective
signifies that the relation between Z and R is quite
Precipitation
strong.
JWD measurements for the pre-monsoon, mon- The developmental phase of rain droplets is
soon, and post-monsoon seasons were analyzed to specified by the stretchness of scatter point density
derive the Z-R equation (Ryzhkov & Zrnić, 1995; (Leighton et al., 2022), as shown in Fig. 4. A
Seliga & Bringi, 1976) associated with the stratiform narrower spectrum in the upper segment is observed,
and convective precipitation. The power-law Z-R where scatter point density is concentrated above or
equation is derived using the linear regression method near the drawn Z-R equation line. Also, the value of
applied to JWD data obtained for stratiform and exponential coefficient is larger than 1 in the derived
convective precipitation in all three seasons, as Z-R equation, implying that collision-coalescence
shown in Fig. 4. A black line drawn from the scatter and break-up processes are not balanced. There is a

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 Reflectivity-rain rate relationship for orographic rainfall

Figure 3
Classifying seasonal rain events into stratiform and convective precipitation based on the relationship between Dm and log10Nw. Change in
colour representing logarithmic R (log10R)

Figure 4
Z-R equation for the (a, b, c) convective and (d, e, f) stratiform precipitation clouds in the (a, d) pre-monsoon, (b, e) monsoon, and (c, f) post-
monsoon seasons

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 A. K. Srivastava et al. Pure Appl. Geophys.

slight time difference between consecutive droplet multiplier coefficient declined sharply, while the
collision and a higher value of LWC during heavy exponential coefficient increased.
precipitation having larger R, and equilibrium of
DSD is attained quickly. The concentration of rain
3.3. Comparison of Derived Equation With Earlier
droplets stagnates, when the rate of break-up and
Studies
collision-coalescence processes become equal (Hu &
Srivastava, 1995; Willis, 1984). When the equilib- Here, the power-law Z-R equation has been
rium state is established, the number concentration of derived for the orographic-influenced rainfall that
rain droplets increases with the increment of R occurred during the pre-monsoon, monsoon, and
(Willis, 1984). It is postulated by Rosenfeld and post-monsoon seasons. To understand how much
Ulbrich (2003) for typhoon systems and also backed the derived Z-R equation in the present study is
by other researchers (Chang et al., 2009; Wen et al., distinct from the earlier derivation, we compared the
2018, 2019) based on the evaluation of the Z-R presently derived equation for the stratiform and
equation determined by Atlas and Chmela (1957). convective precipitation during the pre-monsoon and
The Z-R equation for seasonal rainfall is derived monsoon seasons along with the earlier derived
and illustrated in Fig. 5. The multiplier coefficient of equation around the globe (Atlas et al., 2000; Bamba
the Z-R equation for seasonal rainfall is lower than et al., 2014; Battan, 1973; Marshall et al., 1955;
that the season’s stratiform and convective precipi- Tokay & Short, 1996), which is shown in Fig. 6. The
tation. The proportion of rain events having deep convective rainfall is more prominent at these
R [ 10 mm/hr is low in stratiform precipitation. stations, located in the mid-latitude and tropical plain.
However, the convective precipitation contains sev- However, these equations can also be considered as
eral rain events with R \ 10 mm/hr. The proportion standard Z-R equations in the study of precipitation
of low-intensity rain events is found to rise as a result microphysics using the disdrometer.
of seasonal rainfall and an overall decrement in For R \ 10 mm/hr, the value of Z from all Z-R
intense rain events. As a result, the concentration of equations is approximately the same. The differences
smaller-size rain droplets increased, and the value of in calculated Z increase with the increased R-value.

Figure 5
Similar to Fig. 4, but for seasonal rainfall during a pre-monsoon, b monsoon, and c post-monsoon seasons

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 Reflectivity-rain rate relationship for orographic rainfall

Figure 6
Z-R equation for the stratiform and convective precipitation clouds during the pre-monsoon and monsoon seasons compared with computed
Z-R equation in earlier studies at different locations

Table 1 rain droplets, but the total concentration decreases.

Derived Z-R equation for stratiform and convective clouds at The present results of the seasonal DSD also support
Mahabaleswar and comparison with other disdrometer-derived the previous study by Kumar et al., (2022a, 2022b) at
equations around the globe the Mahabaleshwar. While from the Z-R equation in
Study Rain type Z-R equation the post-monsoon season, total concentration of rain
droplets and median size are lower than observed in
Pre-Monsoon (present study) Stratiform Z = 223R1.35
the pre-monsoon season but higher than in the
Convective Z = 217R1.34
Monsoon (present study) Stratiform Z = 231R1.21 monsoon season for the constant rain intensity. All
Convective Z = 158R1.31 compared Z-R equations and the derived equation of
Post-monsoon (present study) Stratiform Z = 181R1.32 the present study, are given in Table 1.
Convective Z = 137R1.38
Bamba et al. (2014) Stratiform Z = 427R1.34 The comparison with earlier studies shows con-
Convective Z = 302R1.33 siderable differences in the Z-R equation over the
Atlas et al. (2000) Stratiform Z = 224R1.28 Western Ghats, driven by this region’s unique climate
Convective Z = 129R1.38
Tokay and Short (1996) Stratiform Z = 367R1.30
and microphysical processes. Orography plays a
Convective Z = 139R1.43 major role in the variation of the Z-R relationship
Battan (1973) – Z = 238R1.50 between the Western Ghats and other regions. The
Marshall et al. (1955) – Z = 200R1.60
Western Ghats complex topography influences the
cloud formation process and precipitation by forcing
moist air to ascend, amplifying cloud formation and
Low-intensity of rainfall can be predicted with high precipitation development. It leads to augmentation
accuracy. However, predicting extreme rainfall inten- of small raindrops in the stratiform cloud, where the
sity is challenging from a single parameter Z. For the gradual ascends occur, and bigger raindrops in the
same value of Z, the pre-monsoon contains bigger convective cloud having strong vertical velocity.

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 A. K. Srivastava et al. Pure Appl. Geophys.

Figure 7
Multiplier and exponential coefficient in the Z-R equation (a, b pair), compared with earlier studies over the Indian region

These orographic effects are less pronounced in the other studies, our results align with those conducted
mid-latitude and oceanic regions. Another important at Gadanki and Tirupati for both stratiform and
factor is the variability of seasonal circulation convective precipitation. The discrepancies in coef-
compared to the other regions, predominate occur- ficient values from the earlier studies could be
rence of long-duration stratiform rainfall in the attributed to variation in microphysical processes
monsoon and intense convective rainfall in the pre- associated to local topography, rain type and seasonal
monsoon season over the Western Ghats. It corre- dynamics. At the same time, a smaller value of ‘‘a’’
spondingly causes differences in microphysical produces larger Z at constant R during the convective
processes like break-up and collision-coalescence precipitation, indicating the existence of a significant
processes affecting DSD and Z-R relationship. concentration of bigger raindrops (Sulochana et al.,
The coefficients of Z-R equation, i.e., ‘‘a’’ and 2016). On the other hand, the smaller ‘‘b’’ value
‘‘b’’ for stratiform and convective precipitation denotes that the variation in rain droplet’s diameter
during the pre-monsoon, monsoon, and post-monsoon from the mean diameter is the least. The coefficient
seasons have been shown in Fig. 7 and compared determined in the present study is in an accept-
with previously reported values for the Gadanki (Rao able range, as typically ‘‘b’’ and ‘‘a’’ lies within
et al., 2001) and Tirupati (Sulochana et al., 2016). 1.20–1.60 and 100–400, respectively (Prat & Barros,
Z-R equation coefficients for the Western Ghats are 2009).
different and exhibit dependency on the season and
rain type, with considerable differences between all
three seasons. The value of ‘‘a’’ is lower, and ‘‘b’’ is 4. Conclusions
higher in convective rainfall, indicative of intense
rainfall compared to stratiform precipitation. In The power-law Z-R relationship has been deter-
addition, the value of the multiplier coefficient is mined for the first time for stratiform and convective
large for the stratiform precipitation. Compared with precipitation using ground-based JWD measurements

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 Reflectivity-rain rate relationship for orographic rainfall

during the pre-monsoon, monsoon, and post-monsoon regions with different climates and topography.
seasons at the HACPL, Mahabaleshwar over the Despite these limitations, the present study provides,
Western Ghats in India during the period from 2014 for the first time, the Z-R equation using the long-
to 2019. The salient features of the present study are: term in-situ observation for the Western Ghats rain-
fall during different seasons and cloud types. Future
1. Pre-monsoon, monsoon, and post-monsoon sea-
research should address these limitations by incor-
sons show distinguishable characteristics due to
porating other remote sensing data and expanding the
variations in microphysical processes occurring in
geographical scope of the study region.
the precipitating clouds in each season.
2. Intense rainfall for a short duration in the pre-
monsoon season is associated with higher Z values
Acknowledgements
and a significant concentration of bigger rain
droplets (Dm [ 1.5 mm) compared to other
Already mentioned in the manuscript in Acknowl-
seasons.
edgements section.
3. Conversely, monsoon rainfall is characterized by
prolonged low-intensity rain events, leading to an Authors contribution A.K.: Conceptualization,
increased concentration of smaller-diameter dro- Methodology, Software, Validation, Data curation,
plets (low Dm and high Nw) and LWC, with a Investigation, Writing- Original draft preparation. A.K.S.:
Conceptualization, Supervision, Visualization, Investigation,
corresponding decrease in the Z parameter. The Writing- Reviewing and Editing. K.C.: Visualization, Writing-
disparity in seasonal parameters is primarily Reviewing and Editing. M.K.S.: Supervision, Writing-
caused by the precipitation microphysics Reviewing and Editing.
4. The contributions of stratiform and convective
clouds to seasonal rainfall vary significantly, with
convective clouds accounting for * 42%, 53%, Data availability
and 27% of rainfall during the pre-monsoon,
monsoon, and post-monsoon seasons, The data used in the present work was recorded at the
respectively. High-Altitude Cloud Physics Laboratory (HACPL),
5. The power-law Z-R equation is derived for the Mahabaleshwar, India, using ground-based disdrom-
stratiform and convective precipitation separately eter measurements from 2015 to 2019. The raw data
in each season using the linear regression method. can be provided by the corresponding author on
The derived equation shows considerable variation request.
with rain type and season. Declarations
6. The constants ‘‘a’’ and ‘‘b’’ of the Z-R equation for
the Western Ghats differ from previously reported Conflict of interest The authors declare no competing
values in Gadanki and Tirupati, indicating regio- interests.

nal variations in precipitation characteristics.

Publisher’s Note Springer Nature remains neutral
In the present study, we derived the Z-R equation with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps
using ground-based Disdrometer measurements, and institutional affiliations.
offering valuable insights into improving the rainfall
estimation techniques for the Western Ghats rainfall Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other
in different seasons. However, there are several lim- partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a
itations that must be acknowledged such as publishing agreement with the author(s) or other
Disdrometer may not capture the full spectrum of rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted
precipitation characteristics, particularly during the manuscript version of this article is solely governed
intense rainfall. Additionally, the derived equation is by the terms of such publishing agreement and
a geographical constraint for the Western Ghats; it applicable law.
limits the generalization of derived equation to other

Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.

 A. K. Srivastava et al. Pure Appl. Geophys.

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(Received December 29, 2024, revised June 5, 2025, accepted June 13, 2025)

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