Phys.org  October 13, 2023
Given this region’s long history of floods and droughts, the role of natural climate variability cannot be rejected without a careful diagnosis. An international team of researchers (USA – Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Princeton, Stanford, University of Tennessee, Washington State University, Northeastern University, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Tufts University, Italy, India) examined how oceanic and atmospheric variability has contributed to unusual precipitation distributions in West South Asia. Variations in sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific and northern Arabian Sea, and internal atmospheric variability related to the circumglobal teleconnection pattern and the subtropical westerly jet stream, explain more than 70% of monthly summer precipitation variability in the 21st century. Several of these forcings have co-occurred with record strength during episodes of extreme monsoons, which have exacerbated the overall effect. According to the researchers climate change may have contributed to increased variability and the in-phase co-occurrences of the identified mechanisms, but further research is required to confirm any such connection… read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
July-August-September detrended CPC precipitation anomalies over West South Asia. Credit: npj Climate and Atmospheric Science volume 6, Article number: 148 (2023)Â