ABSTRACT: In the present study, we examined the exposure of the Tamil Nadu region, India, to droughts and extreme rainfall events using the Standardised Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) and a classification scheme based on daily rainfall. We used high-resolution temperature and rainfall observations from the India Meteorological Department for the period 1951-2016. The robustness of the results was tested using the Mann-Kendall trend (M-K) test and the Kolmogorov-Smirnov (K-S) test. During the study period, there were statistically significant increasing trends in drought area (90% significance level), maximum drought intensity (99% significance level) and maximum drought severity (99% significance level) over the Tamil Nadu region. There has also been an increase in the frequency and intensity of heavy rainfall events in recent years. The spatio-temporal dimensions of this study suggest an increasing exposure of this semi-arid, rain shadow region to severe droughts and extreme rainfall events in recent decades. The results provide sufficient grounds to substantiate the necessity of immediate interventions at the policy level.

中文翻译：

---

印度泰米尔纳德邦的极端降雨和干旱事件

摘要：在本研究中，我们使用标准化降水蒸散指数（SPEI）和基于每日降雨量的分类方案，检查了印度泰米尔纳德邦地区遭受干旱和极端降雨事件的影响。我们使用了印度气象局1951-2016年期间的高分辨率温度和降雨观测值。使用Mann-Kendall趋势（MK）测试和Kolmogorov-Smirnov（KS）测试来测试结果的稳健性。在研究期间，泰米尔纳德邦地区的干旱地区（显着性水平为90％），最大干旱强度（显着性水平为99％）和最大干旱严重度（显着性水平为99％）具有统计上显着的增长趋势。近年来，强降雨事件的频率和强度也在增加。这项研究的时空尺度表明，近几十年来，这个半干旱的雨影区越来越多地暴露于严重的干旱和极端降雨事件中。结果提供了充分的依据，以证实在政策一级立即采取干预措施的必要性。