IIT Bombay researchers have found the reason why the summer monsoon rainfall has shifted towards northwest India and intensification of extreme rainfall is seen over central India during the month of September. They have developed a land-surface model that takes into account the Indian conditions. For the first time, researchers from the Indian Institute of … Continue reading Irrigation, agriculture shift rainfall to northwest India, IIT Bombay finds
Monsoon rainfall
Surveillance from the sky using RISAT-2B satellite
RISAT-2B satellite launched on May 22 will use microwave radiation for crop monitoring, forestry and flood mapping. The satellite can image during day and night and under almost all weather conditions including cloud cover. It can detect objects with dimensions of as little as a metre, making it ideal for military surveillance. With the successful … Continue reading Surveillance from the sky using RISAT-2B satellite
Groundwater depletion alarming in northwest, central India
While a majority of districts in India experienced significant depletion in groundwater storage, those in the Indo-Gangetic plain, northwestern, central, and western parts of India showed the most reduction due to intensive groundwater-based irrigation. Irrigation based on information provided by tensiometers helped farmers in five districts of Punjab save up to 36% groundwater. With 230 … Continue reading Groundwater depletion alarming in northwest, central India
Only 32% of India is resilient to drought
Based on data from 2000 to 2014, only 241 of 634 (about 38%) districts in India were found to be resilient to drought or dry conditions. The remaining 62% districts were non-resilient to varying degrees — slight (180 districts), moderate (80 districts) and severe (133 districts). And only 10 of the 29 States and Union … Continue reading Only 32% of India is resilient to drought
Pollution reduces day time temperature during Indian summer monsoon
Increased aerosol loading in the atmosphere due to pollution has led to changes in the number, shape and characteristics of the rain-bearing clouds. The increased cloud reflectance has led to 1 degree C drop in day time temperature during Indian summer monsoon. At the same time, night time temperature is increasing thus shrinking the diurnal … Continue reading Pollution reduces day time temperature during Indian summer monsoon
IITM: Ocean mean temperature better predicts Indian summer monsoon
Researchers at Pune's Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology report that ocean mean temperature is more accurate in predicting Indian monsoon than sea surface temperature, which is used routinely. While the sea surface temperature (SST) showed 60% success rate in correctly predicting Indian monsoon during 1993-2017, the ocean mean temperature (OMT) had 80% success rate. Sea surface … Continue reading IITM: Ocean mean temperature better predicts Indian summer monsoon
Extreme rainfall events pose a challenge to reservoir operations
Modelling studies by IIT Ghandhinagar team has found that if high emission continues, then by the end of the century the mean annual air temperature is projected to increase up to 6.25 degree C, while rainfall in the catchments is likely to rise by 13-18%. There is a need to improve prediction skill of extreme rainfall events … Continue reading Extreme rainfall events pose a challenge to reservoir operations
Short, heavy spells get a new name – mini-cloud burst
Researchers at Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune have coined a new term — mini-cloud burst — to define rainfall in excess of 50 mm in two consecutive hours. While extreme rainfall of over 200 mm in 24 hours translates to only 16 mm rainfall per hour, the intensity of rainfall is far more in the case of mini-cloud … Continue reading Short, heavy spells get a new name – mini-cloud burst
Decline in low-intensity rainfall reduces groundwater recharge in north India
Research carried out by IIT Gandhinagar team has found increased groundwater recharge in south India between 1996 and 2016 due to increase in high-intensity rainfall during monsoon. But in the case of north India, the decline in low-intensity rainfall during the same period has resulted in a reduction in groundwater recharge. Based on data collected … Continue reading Decline in low-intensity rainfall reduces groundwater recharge in north India
Western Ghats forest cover vital for Tamil Nadu’s SW monsoon rainfall
IIT Bombay researchers have found that forest cover in Western Ghats is responsible for on average 25-30% of moisture to the southwest monsoon rainfall over Tamil Nadu. During monsoon deficit years, the contribution increases to as high as 50%. Deforestation of Western Ghats will also lead to 0.25 degree C increase in surface temperature across … Continue reading Western Ghats forest cover vital for Tamil Nadu’s SW monsoon rainfall
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