What is monsoon?

Monsoon rains in India in August 2011 were 14% above normal. In this photo, people shop in a flooded market in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. Matyas Rehak/Shutterstock)

Monsoons often bring the idea of ??heavy rains, similar to hurricanes or typhoons. But there's a difference: a monsoon is not a storm, but a seasonal movement of winds over an area. This change can lead to heavy rains in the summer, but at other times, it can lead to droughts. What causes a monsoon? According to the National Weather Service, a type of monsoon (from the *** slang mawsim, meaning "season") is caused by the temperature difference between land and the adjacent ocean. Depending on climate change in the Southwest, the sun warms the land and ocean in different ways, causing the winds to play a "tug of war" and eventually change direction, bringing cool, moist air from over the ocean. At the end of the monsoon season, the wind direction reverses again. Dry and wet comparison

According to "National Geographic", the rainy season usually occurs in the summer (about April to September), bringing heavy rains. On average, about 75% of India's annual rainfall and about 50% of North America's monsoon area (according to a 2004 NOAA study) arrives during the summer monsoon season. The rainy season begins when winds bring cooler, moister air from over the ocean onto the land, as mentioned above.

The dry monsoon usually occurs between October and April. According to National Geographic, these winds come not from the ocean, but from dry, warm climates like Mongolia and northwestern China, blowing all the way to India. Dry monsoons tend to be less strong than those in summer. Edward Guinan, a professor of astronomy and meteorology at Villanova University, said the winter monsoon occurs when "the land cools faster than the water and creates high pressure over the land, blocking any ocean air." Enter. “This will lead to a dry period. ” “Wind and Rain”

“The intensity of the monsoon season varies from year to year, bringing cycles of light and heavy rain, as well as slower and higher wind speeds. Data compiled by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology show annual rainfall across India over the past 145 years.

According to the data, monsoon intensity changes on average over a period of 30-40 years. In each period, rainfall is above average, causing many floods, or below average, causing drought. Long-term data suggest that the monsoon trend may begin with a period of low rainfall and end with a period of higher rainfall starting around 1970. Current records for 2016 indicate that total rainfall from June 1 to September 30 was 97.3% of seasonal normal. According to Guinan, the maximum rainfall during the monsoon season was at Cherrapunji in the Indian state of Meghalaya between 1860 and 1861, when 26,470 millimeters (1,047 inches) fell in the area. The area with the highest average annual total (observed over a 10-year period) is Mawsynram, also in Meghalaya, with an average rainfall of 11,872 mm (467.4 in).

The average wind speed in Meghalaya during the peak summer monsoon period is average per 4 kilometers per second, typically varying between 1 and 7 kilometers per hour according to Meteoblue. In winter, wind speeds generally range from 2 to 8 kilometers per hour, with an average of 4 to 5 kilometers per hour. Monsoons are formed in the tropical regions (0 to 23.5 degrees north and south latitude) and subtropical regions (23.5 to 35 degrees north and south latitude) in the world, according to World Monsoons. The strongest monsoons tend to occur in northern India and South Asia, and in southern Australia and Malaysia. Monsoons also occur in southern North America, Central America, northern South America, and western Africa. It is the largest monsoon in North America. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Nn while "KdsPS" "KdSPE" "KDSPs" the monsoon season brings rainfall in North America mainly in northern Mexico, Arizona and New Mexico, and in smaller states It brought rain to parts of Utah, Colorado, southern California and Baja California. The monsoons in North America are not as strong as those in India due to the lower plateaus, but they follow the same pattern. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) submitted a report in 2004 describing a study of the North American monsoon system

. The North American monsoon system is the least understood large-scale weather pattern, affecting some of the more rapidly growing parts of the United States and Mexico, according to a case study. The researchers aim to better understand monsoon operations, patterns and any additional information that can be gathered to help predict the timing and intensity of seasonal monsoons.

The North American monsoon begins in May to June, reaches its peak in July to August, and weakens in September to October, drawing moisture from the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, according to a 2004 study. There are many factors being studied to determine and predict the onset of the monsoon, as well as what the study calls the "flavor of the monsoon," which includes intensity and rainfall. The study points to some factors that may influence the North American monsoon. These may include seasonal events such as hurricanes and other tropical storms, floods and droughts, as well as El Ni?o and climate change. Impact

Monsoons are important in many parts of the world.

According to the World Monsoon Organization, agriculture in places like India relies heavily on the summer monsoon season. According to National Geographic, hydropower stations that generate electricity and import and export trade are also highly dependent on the monsoon season.

During the light rain period, according to the world monsoon, crops do not grow due to drought, farm animals starve, and the income and welfare of many farmers and families drop significantly. Reductions in electricity production due to rising costs sometimes result in electricity being supplied only to large businesses or the wealthiest households. Because many farmers are unable to grow their own food or produce extra food to sell, food is imported from other parts of the world.

With the arrival of heavy rains, floods and landslides not only washed away crops and houses, but also people and animals. According to World Monsoons, diseases such as cholera, dengue fever, malaria, and stomach and eye infections are more common in summer, when rainfall is heavier. Many of these diseases are spread through water systems that are overloaded with access to clean drinking water, clean water, etc. The "KDSPE" "KDSPS" North American monsoon system also brings the start of fire season in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. According to a 2004 report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the number of lightning strikes has increased due to changes in air pressure and temperature. According to the study, the number of lightning strikes, which reaches tens of thousands per night in some areas, can bring not only fires to the area but also power outages and serious injuries. Monsoons and Global Warming

According to a study published in Frontiers in Earth Science in 2015 by Lawal Billa and Ajit Singh, a team of scientists from Malaysia, due to frequent shifts and changes in precipitation levels and timelines, The impact of global warming on the monsoons could be devastating. World Monsoons estimates that rainfall will increase during the summer monsoon season over the next 50 to 100 years. Greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, can make warm air hold more water, only to release it as rain in areas that have already been soaked. During the dry winter monsoon season, it is believed that the land becomes drier as evaporation increases and temperatures rise.

On shorter time scales, rainfall during the summer monsoon can vary from year to year due to various factors including air pollution, according to World Monsoons. El Ni?o in the Pacific Ocean also affects the Indian monsoon in the short and long term, according to research from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

According to the above studies, the intensity of El Ni?o warming is considered to be the main factor affecting the intensity of the monsoon. However, it now appears that El Ni?o is not getting stronger, but is actually getting warmer. Researchers collected Indian rainfall and Pacific satellite observations and found that when El Ni?o warming occurs in the central Pacific, India experiences droughts. The eastern Indo-Pacific region experiences normal monsoon conditions. In the western Pacific, India experiences more rainfall

"There are many factors that can influence the monsoon, including El Ni?o, and there is a lot of research being done to gain insight into these factors and how the monsoon changes. The big picture of this study Part of it is all about how to better predict future and current rain and wind, as a 2015 article from the Office of Naval Research published in Science Daily says. The more you know about how monsoons work, the more accurate they can be. According to Staltas, when about half of India's population is engaged in agriculture and agriculture, "KDSPs" account for 18 percent of India's GDP. Changes in monsoon timing and rainfall can cause big problems. . With all the research being done, maybe these problems can be turned into solutions.

Additional Resources National Weather Service: North American Monsoons Yale University: World Monsoons National Geographic: Monsoons