Rainfall trend, variability and changes over the state of Punjab, India 1981–2020: A geospatial approach

India is in the tropical monsoon zone receives most of the rainfall during the South West Monsoon (SWM) season, which lasts from June to September (JJAS). The SWM rainfall exhibits high spatial and temporal variability over the Indian subcontinent. There have been significant changes in SWM mean rainfall pattern and variability as a result of climate change. Moreover, the climate change has impacted the intensity and frequency of extreme rainfall events. In this study we used the Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Station data (CHIRPS) is more than 30 years quasi-global rainfall dataset from 1981 to 2020 for carrying out annual and SWM rainfall spatial and temporal variability over a total of 78 sub-districts (Tehsils) from 22 districts of Punjab state with a spatial resolution of 0.05°.