Research Vignettes

The Weather Research and Forecasting model is a mesoscale regional climate model that has been used for operational research. This model will be setup for the Bangalore city to create reliable rainfall forecasts of high temporal and spatial resolution. 


It has been envisioned to develop an open-source web-portal on different downscaling techniques, specifically for urban areas. It is being developed in collaboration with the UNESCO. This web-portal is in a developing stage, and once it becomes operational, it is expected to provide an interactive interface for the urban climate change modelling community. In addition to the provisioning of downscaled information for an urban setup, this web-portal will also serve as an information-sharing platform for cutting edge research on climate downscaling.

Faculty/ P.I.: Prof. P. P. Mujumdar


(a) Boundary conditions given for the simulation

(b) Velocity along the channel at the after 1000 seconds

In fluid dynamics, there are two fundamental approaches to study problems involving fluid flow. First is the experimental study which typically involves construction of scaled models and second is the theoretical study that involves obtaining solutions from differential equations that govern the fluid flow, either analytically or computationally.  

The governing equations that define a flow problem are in differential form and known as Navier-Stokes equations. The art of developing and solving these equations to obtain approximate numerical solutions is called computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Modern studies apply both experimental and CFD analysis and the two complement each other. 

As part of the Urban Flood Model project, one of the low impact development applications, i.e. porous concrete is being tested to use flood water as a resource, experimentally as well computationally. The simulations for flow through the compound channel which has a smaller section comprising of porous concrete are being carried out using commercially available CFD code of FLOW-3D. Further, flow through an entire channel of porous concrete will be analyzed for estimating the seepage of flood water through it. 


Conceptual model for evapotranspiration and recharge fluxes for various plots in the distributed hydrological model (DHM).

Conceptual model for evapotranspiration and recharge fluxes for various plots in the distributed hydrological model (DHM).


High intensity rainfall in Bangalore city under climate change for near future (2021–50) for RCP 8.5 Scenario with 10 year return period. The figure shows uncertainty in rainfall intensities obtained from Bayesian analysis. Results from various GCMs (shown on X-axis), Reliability Ensemble Average (REA) and from Historical data are shown. The climate change projections clearly indicate an increase in high intensity rainfall.

High intensity rainfall in Bangalore city under climate change for near future (2021–50) for RCP 8.5 Scenario with 10 year return period. The figure shows uncertainty in rainfall intensities obtained from Bayesian analysis. Results from various GCMs (shown on X-axis), Reliability Ensemble Average (REA) and from Historical data are shown. The climate change projections clearly indicate an increase in high intensity rainfall.


 Precipitation changes in idealized climate model simulations where forest are converted to grasslands over a) entire global land, b) boreal regions (50o-90oN), midlatitudes (20o-50oN) and d) tropical regions (-20o-20oN) . In the case global, boreal and mid-latitude deforestation, one can clearly find the movement of the ITCZ towards the southern hemisphere.

Precipitation changes in idealized climate model simulations where forest are converted to grasslands over a) entire global land, b) boreal regions (50o-90oN), midlatitudes (20o-50oN) and d) tropical regions (-20o-20oN) . In the case global, boreal and mid-latitude deforestation, one can clearly find the movement of the ITCZ towards the southern hemisphere.


Variations in average monthly salinity as well as O and C isotopic compositions at the Hooghly estuary and its relationships with the amount of rainfall and Ganges discharge.

Variations in average monthly salinity as well as O and C isotopic compositions at the Hooghly estuary and its relationships with the amount of rainfall and Ganges discharge.


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 Integrated urban water management systems with sensor technologies.

Integrated urban water management systems with sensor technologies.

Interdisciplinary Centre for Water Research (ICWaR) - IISc Bangalore