Variability of orographic cloudiness over the Western Ghats

Tropical Montane Cloud Forest (TMCF) ecosystems are characterized by frequent and prolonged immersion in orographic clouds. Topographical gradients and associated microclimatic variation leads to ecological niche differentiation and existence of unique species in such ecosystems. However, this also leads to TMCFs being sensitive to climate perturbations, especially those that alter orographic cloud formation. In this context, it is important to understand the variability of orographic cloudiness associated with TMCFs. Results from such an analysis conducted for Western Ghats, southwestern India is discussed. Note that this region is one of the 34 primary global biodiversity hotspots whose spatial extent has been considerably reduced due to land use pressure. Using remote sensing data from multiple satellites, cloud climatology is developed for Western Ghats and the following questions are addressed: (1) What are the diurnal and seasonal variations of orographic clouds?; (2) How does orographic cloud cover change as a function of large scale flow regimes?; (3) Where are TMCFs located and what is the variability of cloud immersion within these areas?. In addition, numerical simulation analysis will be used to address the impact of land cover and land use change on orographic cloud cover and precipitation over Western Ghats.