Effect of ENSO on regional monsoonal rains -- a case study for central India

Conference · Tue Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1996

OSTI ID:470988

The regular onset of warm ocean temperatures off Peru during the calendar months of December and January has long been known as El Nino. Years with abnormally warm ocean surface temperatures along the Peruvian coast are associated with abnormally warm ocean surface temperatures up and down the Pacific coast. The changes in the equatorial Pacific ocean surface temperatures influence the distribution of precipitation and give rise to a pattern of abnormal surface pressures that spans the tropics, the Southern Oscillation. These two phenomena, i.e., El Nino and Southern oscillation combined are known as ENSO which emphasize the importance of the interaction between the oceans and atmosphere. It has been found that ENSO has a great influence on Indian summer monsoons. However, there are several studies to examine the influence of ENSO and sea surface temperatures (SST) on the quantum and distribution of monsoonal rainfall. It was observed that during the El Nino years the monsoonal rainfall gets reduced and causes drought conditions in some parts of India.

• OSTI ID: 470988
• Report Number(s): CONF-960420--; ISBN 0-884736-02-5
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AIR-WATER INTERACTIONS
AMBIENT TEMPERATURE
CLIMATIC CHANGE
DROUGHTS
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
INDIA
MONSOONS
RAIN
SEAS
SOUTHERN OSCILLATION