Indian Rainfall Erosivity Density Dataset (IREDD) for South Asia (1980–2018)

The Indian Rainfall Erosivity Density Dataset (IREDD) provides high-resolution, grid-based rainfall erosivity and erosivity density estimates for South Asia from 1980 to 2018. Developed using the Indian Monsoon Data Assimilation and Analysis (IMDAA) dataset with 1-hour temporal and 12 km spatial resolution, IREDD quantifies the erosive potential of rainfall by computing the R-factor (rainfall erosivity) and erosivity density (ED = R / P). The kinetic energy of rainfall events was calculated using the Van Dijk et al. (2002) method, and erosive storms were defined as those exceeding 2.4 mm/hr intensity. This dataset enables regional-scale assessment of soil erosion risk, hotspot detection, and trend analysis using tools such as the Mann-Kendall test and wavelet transforms.

Key Features:

Time span: 1980–2018

Spatial resolution: 12 km × 12 km

Temporal resolution: monthly and seasonal

Geographic coverage: South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan)

Variables: Precipitation, Rainfall Erosivity (R-factor), Erosivity Density

Applications: Soil erosion modeling, land degradation monitoring, climate-resilient agricultural planning

File Format: NetCDF (.nc)

To be Cited:

Ahmed, I. A., Saharia, M., & Chakma, S. (2025). Erosivity density as an indicator of soil erosion risk in South Asia. CATENA, 251, 108766. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2025.108766