An estimation of annual and seasonal rainfall anomaly index for Aizawl district, Mizoram

The occurrence of anomalies in rainfall over an extensive period of time is a major hydro-meteorological event which may result into climate change and further may affect the hydrological imbalance and production of agricultural which are mainly dependent on rainfall. The study explores the annual and seasonal changing behavior of rainfall in Aizawl district of Mizoram for the period of 35 years from 1986–2020. Rainfall Anomaly Index (RAI) was employed to assess the dry and wet years in the rainfall pattern in the study area. The RAI shows an increasing number of dry and extremely dry years. Our findings also suggested that majority of the dry years in the study area were observed in recent decades.