Significant increase in water vapour over India and Indian Ocean: Implications for tropospheric warming and regional...

The increase in greenhouse gases (GHGs) due to anthropogenic activities enhances regional and global temperatures. The most abundant GHG, i.e., water vapour, has a vital positive feedback on the global warming and Earth's climate system. This study focuses on the spatial and temporal changes in water vapour in the troposphere over India and Indian Ocean as derived from the ground-based, satellite and reanalyses data, and assesses the impact on water vapour changes on the regional climate by analysing radiative effects. The analyses show that the annual mean column water vapour (CWV) is high over the northern Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal and Peninsular India, ranging from 30 to 60 kg/m². Most regions show significant positive trends in the annual mean CWV, about 0.1-0.2 kg/m²/yr. There is a significant positive trend in water vapour in the troposphere (except 200 hPa) over the India land regions, with the highest values at 1000 hPa (0.034 g/kg/yr). The corresponding water vapour radiative effect (WVRE) is about 20-80 W/m², depending on seasons and regions. This study, therefore, indicates that the increase in tropospheric water vapour over India and Indian Ocean could affect the regional temperature and climate.