Increased summer monsoon rainfall over Northwest India caused by Hadley cell expansion and Indian Ocean warming
Increased summer monsoon rainfall over Northwest India caused by Hadley cell expansion and Indian Ocean warming
From 1979 to 2022, the summer monsoon precipitation has increased by a substantial 40% over Northwest India compared to the 1980s. This wetting trend aligns with the future projections of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 6 (CMIP6). The observationally constrained reanalysis data indicates that significant sea surface warming in the western equatorial Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea is likely driving this increase in rainfall by enhancing the cross-equatorial monsoonal flow and associated evaporation. We demonstrate that the strengthening of the cross-equatorial monsoon winds is due to the rapid warming of the Indian Ocean and the enhanced Pacific Ocean trade winds, which result from the poleward shift and expansion of the Hadley cell. These strengthened winds boost the latent heat flux (evaporation), leading to increased moisture transport to Northwest India.
Hadley Cell Expansion, Indian Monsoon, Indian Ocean Warming, Ocean-Atmosphere Interaction, Trade Winds
Joseph, Ligin
dba8b26c-88ab-4b6b-9b73-e1c890f1593f
Skliris, Nikolaos
07af7484-2e14-49aa-9cd3-1979ea9b064e
Dey, Dipanjan
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Marsh, Robert
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Hirschi, Joel
c8a45006-a6e3-4319-b5f5-648e8ef98906
28 August 2024
Joseph, Ligin
dba8b26c-88ab-4b6b-9b73-e1c890f1593f
Skliris, Nikolaos
07af7484-2e14-49aa-9cd3-1979ea9b064e
Dey, Dipanjan
6abca563-f99d-4554-a0b8-945d5621b16b
Marsh, Robert
702c2e7e-ac19-4019-abd9-a8614ab27717
Hirschi, Joel
c8a45006-a6e3-4319-b5f5-648e8ef98906
Joseph, Ligin, Skliris, Nikolaos, Dey, Dipanjan, Marsh, Robert and Hirschi, Joel
(2024)
Increased summer monsoon rainfall over Northwest India caused by Hadley cell expansion and Indian Ocean warming.
Geophysical Research Letters, 51 (16), [e2024GL108829].
(doi:10.1029/2024GL108829).
Abstract
From 1979 to 2022, the summer monsoon precipitation has increased by a substantial 40% over Northwest India compared to the 1980s. This wetting trend aligns with the future projections of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 6 (CMIP6). The observationally constrained reanalysis data indicates that significant sea surface warming in the western equatorial Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea is likely driving this increase in rainfall by enhancing the cross-equatorial monsoonal flow and associated evaporation. We demonstrate that the strengthening of the cross-equatorial monsoon winds is due to the rapid warming of the Indian Ocean and the enhanced Pacific Ocean trade winds, which result from the poleward shift and expansion of the Hadley cell. These strengthened winds boost the latent heat flux (evaporation), leading to increased moisture transport to Northwest India.
Text
Geophysical Research Letters - 2024 - Joseph - Increased Summer Monsoon Rainfall Over Northwest India Caused by Hadley Cell
- Version of Record
More information
Accepted/In Press date: 6 August 2024
e-pub ahead of print date: 20 August 2024
Published date: 28 August 2024
Keywords:
Hadley Cell Expansion, Indian Monsoon, Indian Ocean Warming, Ocean-Atmosphere Interaction, Trade Winds
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 495477
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/495477
ISSN: 0094-8276
PURE UUID: e910cb1f-506c-4f7e-9ec3-3d4fb457b6ba
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Date deposited: 14 Nov 2024 17:43
Last modified: 15 Nov 2024 03:09
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Contributors
Author:
Ligin Joseph
Author:
Joel Hirschi
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