A Novel Approach to Understanding the Complexity of Precipitation

One of the most challenging tasks in studying precipitation is quantifying how the complexities of individual components contribute to the overall system complexity. To address this, we employed information measures based on Kolmogorov complexity (KC), specifically the Kolmogorov complexity spectrum (KC spectrum) and the Kolmogorov complexity plane (KC plane). We applied these measures to monthly time series data, both measured and simulated by the EBU POM regional climate model, spanning the period from 1982 to 2005 for Sombor (45.78° N, 19.12° E) in Serbia. The variables analyzed included precipitation—a complex physical system—and its individual components: mean temperature, minimum and maximum temperatures, humidity, wind speed, and global radiation. By applying the listed measures to all time series, we calculated normalized KC spectra for each position in the KC plane, displaying interactive master amplitudes against individual amplitudes. We proposed a simplified four-step method to compute the relative change in complexities within the overlapping area beneath the KC spectra. Our results facilitated a discussion on the relationship between the complexity of precipitation and that of its individual components. © 2025 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.