Reconstruction of pre-monsoon relative humidity since 1800 C.E. based on tree-ring data of Pinus roxburghii Sarg. (chir–pine) from Pithoragarh, Western Himalaya

Abstract Relative humidity (RH), an important climatic element influencing tree growth, is also crucial in assessing the General Circulation Models (GCMs) on global warming. However, in the absence of a relatively long record of RH in the Himalayan region, precise modelling of the climate change related processes and their impacts on this region are not well established Here we present a new RH reconstruction for the pre-monsoon months (February–May) starting from 1800 C.E. using the tree-ring width data of subtropical Pinus roxburghii (chir-pine) from Pithoragarh, Western Himalaya, India. We found significant positive correlation between tree growth and pre-monsoon RH (n = 67, r = +0.569, p