Estimation of seasonal boundaries using temperature data: a case of northwest part of Bangladesh

Abstract

Abstract Seasons are the divisions of the year into months or days according to the changes in weather, ecology and the intensity of sunlight in a given region. The temperature cycle plays a major role in defining the meteorological seasons of the year. This study aims at investigating seasonal boundaries applying harmonic analysis in daily temperature for the duration of 30 years, recorded at six stations from 1988 to 2017, in northwest part of Bangladesh. Year by year harmonic analyses of daily temperature data in each station have been carried out to observe temporal and spatial variations in seasonal lengths. Periodic nature of daily temperature has been investigated employing spectral analysis, and it has been found that the estimated periodicities have higher power densities of the frequencies at 0.0027 and 0.0053 cycles/day. Some other minor periodic natures have also been observed in the analyses. Using the frequencies between 0.0027 to 0.0278 cycles/day, the observed periodicities in spectral analysis, harmonic analyses of minimum and maximum temperatures have found four seasonal boundaries every year in each of the stations. The estimated seasonal boundaries for the region fall between 19-25 February, 19-23 May, 18-20 August and 17-22 November. Since seasonal variability results in imbalance in water, moisture and heat, it has the potential to significantly affect agricultural production. Hence, the seasons and seasonal lengths presented in this research may help the concerned authorities take measures to reduce the risks for crop productivity to face the challenges arise from changing climate. Moreover, the results obtained are likely to contribute in introducing local climate calendar.