Identifying meaningful covariates that can improve the interpolation of monsoon rainfall in a low‐lying tropical region

Abstract The assessment of spatio‐temporal distribution of rainfall over the entire monsoon season is critical for the water resources management in a tropical low‐lying region like Bangladesh. The primary objective is to find suitable interpolation methods for each monsoon month as well as the accumulated rainfall for the entire season in Bangladesh. As the unique position of Bangladesh and monsoon system both contribute the variation in rainfall, the identification of associated suitable covariates can offer reliable estimates when applied with the appropriate interpolation model. Several potential covariates are identified diligently including the remotely sensed annul average monsoon rainfall (RAAMR), distance to Bay‐of‐Bengal and distance to Hindu‐Kush Himalayan Region, among others. This study mainly considers the multivariate approach: kriging with external…