The Hindu : National : June rains affected by ocean temperatures

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Nov 10, 2009
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

National

National

June rains affected by ocean temperatures

N. Gopal Raj

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A study says the exceptionally poor rainfall this June was the result of a “rare event” — the waters of the equatorial Indian Ocean were warmer than the Bay of Bengal.

According to a research paper that has just been published, the South West Monsoon set in over Kerala this year a week earlier, but failed make its usual progress northwards thereafter to cover the rest of India. June ended with 48 per cent less than normal rainfall all over the country. The monsoon never recovered from the setback and caused a severe drought.

Typically during the onset of the monsoon, which starts in late May or early June, a vast band of clouds form over the equatorial Indian Ocean and then moves northwards in stages, say P.A. Francis and Sulochana Gadgil in a paper in the journal Current Science.

As a part of this process, cloud systems were also generated over the Bay of Bengal. These systems then headed across India, towards Rajasthan and brought a great deal of rain with them. This year, however, the monsoon was restricted to the west coast and southern India, well into the third week of June.

Cyclone Aila, which formed in the last week of May, triggered a cooling of the surface waters of the Bay, said Dr. Francis of the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services, Hyderabad.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National