IIT Madras and Gauhati University researchers develop new monsoon arrival method
The new technique distinguishes between short local rain spells and the arrival of the sustained monsoon system.
Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras and Gauhati University have created a way to differentiate between brief local rain and the actual arrival of the large-scale monsoon, according to The Times of India.
The study, published in the Journal of Climate, uses a climate network to track how rainfall clusters grow and merge across India.
Using 84 years of rainfall data, the team found that the large-scale monsoon typically begins around May 15 in Northeast India and June 9 over the Indian peninsula.
R I Sujith, Head of the Centre of Excellence for Studying Critical Transitions in Complex Systems at IIT Madras, said the monsoon's arrival at a location is not always the first time it rains there.
The method identifies onset when local rainfall becomes part of the largest, planetary-scale cluster of connected rainfall events, rather than being a temporary local weather event.
Sujith noted that avoiding false onsets could assist farmers with sowing and help policymakers with water management and food security.
B N Goswami of Gauhati University stated that this method is intended to complement existing operational definitions rather than replace them.