Temporal differences of rainfall in Erbil province based on remote sensing data and meteorological station data between 1981-2020

Abstract

Climate and changing its elements are very important because they affect water resources, agriculture, the environment and many other aspects of human life. This study aims to show the amount of monthly and annual rainfall and to verify spatiotemporal differences in the Province of Erbil. It also aims to compare satellite data with annual data from meteorological stations in the study area. The methods used in this research are comparison, analysis and statistical methods to show the direction of rain changes such as Kernel and Kriging. The study used meteorological station data between 2001 and 2020 and remote sensing data (CHIRPS) from 1981 to 2020. The study found that the average annual rainfall between 1981 and 2020 was 609 ± 122 mm, as well as a 40-year increase in rainfall by only 1.88 mm, according to CHIRPS data. Data from Erbil governorate stations confirm that rainfall increased by 106 mm from 2001 to 2020, but the change is not significant statistically (p-value = 0.72), with the exception of Shorsh and Koya stations in the province, where rainfall decreased in the mentioned period. With regard to the comparison between remote sensing data and annual data from meteorological stations in the study area between 2001 and 2020, there appears to be an important strong positive relationship between them, because the R2 is (0.7), (p-value) is (0.001) and the error scale (RMSE) is (83.04) mm.