Abstract
The dry air intrusion over India during summer monsoon break phases is well known. It has been argued that this dry air originates over the desert regions of West Asia. Here, we show that a reservoir of saturation deficit air exists over the western and northern Arabian Sea during the summer monsoon season. The monsoon low-level jet (LLJ) that transports the moisture to continental India in the active phase of monsoon, transports the dry air to northern and central India during the break phase. The LLJ undergoes a weakening and broadening before the monsoon break phase in response to increased barotropic instability. The broadening of LLJ leads to an intensification of zonal flow in the poleward flanks and a weakening at the core. The development of a positive meridional SST gradient over the northern Arabian Sea favours an increase in the low-level zonal flow in the north, which advects the moist deficit air across northwest India. The dry air intrusion results in enhanced static stability over northern and central India and strong suppression of convection. Further, the enhanced static stability weakens zonal flow from the northern Arabian Sea region and leads to the demise of the dry air intrusion. Thus, internal mechanisms are responsible for the dry air intrusion over India and its termination during the break phase of the summer monsoon. An index for the dry air intrusion is constructed based on the saturation deficit transport. This dry air intrusion index is used to identify the dry air intrusion events during monsoon breaks during the 1981–2014 period. The statistics show that there were 34 (4) monsoon breaks with (without) dry air intrusion during 1981–2014 period. We also note that the dry air intrusion and the monsoon breaks are happening simultaneously, suggesting that it is difficult to establish a cause-effect relationship.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ajayamohan RS, Rao SA, Yamagata T (2008) Influence of Indian ocean dipole on poleward propagation of boreal summer intraseasonal oscillations. J Clim 21(21):5437–5454. https://doi.org/10.1175/2008JCLI1758.1
Ashok K, Guan Z, Saji NH, Yamagata T (2004) Individual and combined influences of enso and the Indian ocean dipole on the Indian summer monsoon. J Clim 17(16):3141–3155. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0442(2004)017<3141:IACIOE>2.0.CO;2
Bhat GS (2006) The Indian drought of 2002—a sub-seasonal phenomenon? Q J R Meteorol Soc 132(621):2583–2602. https://doi.org/10.1256/qj.05.13
Bollasina MA, Ming Y (2013) The role of land-surface processes in modulating the Indian monsoon annual cycle. Clim Dyn 41(9–10):2497–2509
Boos WR, Kuang Z (2010) Dominant control of the south Asian monsoon by orographic insulation versus plateau heating. Nature 463:218–222. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature08707
Boos WR, Kuang Z (2013) Sensitivity of the south Asian monsoon to elevated and non-elevated heating. Sci Rep 3:1192. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep01192
Chattopadhyay R, Phani R, Sabeerali CT, Dhakate AR, Salunke KD, Mahapatra S, Rao AS, Goswami BN (2015) Influence of extratropical sea-surface temperature on the Indian summer monsoon: an unexplored source of seasonal predictability. Q J R Meteorol Soc 141(692):2760–2775. https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.2562
Chen X, Pauluis OM, Leung LR, Zhang F (2018) Multiscale atmospheric overturning of the Indian summer monsoon as seen through isentropic analysis. J Atmos Sci 75(9):3011–3030. https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-18-0068.1
Cherchi A, Annamalai H, Masina S, Navarra A (2014) South Asian summer monsoon and the eastern Mediterranean climate: the monsoon–desert mechanism in cmip5 simulations. J Clim 27(18):6877–6903. https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-13-00530.1
Dee DP, Uppala SM, Simmons AJ, Berrisford P, Poli P, Kobayashi S, Andrae U, Balmaseda MA, Balsamo G, Bauer P, Bechtold P, Beljaars ACM, van de Berg L, Bidlot J, Bormann N, Delsol C, Dragani R, Fuentes M, Geer AJ, Haimberger L, Healy SB, Hersbach H, Hólm EV, Isaksen L, Kållberg P, Köhler M, Matricardi M, McNally AP, Monge-Sanz BM, Morcrette JJ, Park BK, Peubey C, de Rosnay P, Tavolato C, Thépaut JN, Vitart F (2011) The ERA-Interim reanalysis: configuration and performance of the data assimilation system. Q J R Meteorol Soc 137(656):553–597. https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.828
Emanuel K, Sundararajan R, Williams J (2008) Hurricanes and global warming: results from downscaling IPCC ar4 simulations. Bull Am Meteorol Soc 89(3):347–368. https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-89-3-347
Findlater J (1971) Mean monthly airflow at low levels over the western Indian ocean. Geophys Mem 16:1–53
Francis PA, Gadgil S (2010) Towards understanding the unusual Indian monsoon in 2009. J Earth Syst Sci 119:397–415. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-010-0033-6
Gadgil S, Joseph P (2003) On breaks of the Indian monsoon. J Earth Syst Sci 112:529–558. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02709778
Goswami BN, Mohan RSA (2001) Intraseasonal oscillations and interannual variability of the Indian summer monsoon. J Clim 14(6):1180–1198. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0442(2001)014<1180:IOAIVO>2.0.CO;2
Goswami BN, Ajayamohan RS, Xavier PK, Sengupta D (2003) Clustering of synoptic activity by Indian summer monsoon intraseasonal oscillations. Geophys Res Lett. https://doi.org/10.1029/2002GL016734
Hazra A, Taraphdar S, Halder M, Pokhrel S, Chaudhari HS, Salunke K, Mukhopadhyay P, Rao SA (2013) Indian summer monsoon drought 2009: role of aerosol and cloud microphysics. Atmos Sci Lett 14(3):181–186. https://doi.org/10.1002/asl2.437
Huffman GJ, Bolvin DT, Nelkin EJ, Wolff DB, Adler RF, Gu G, Hong Y, Bowman KP, Stocker EF (2007) The TRMM multisatellite precipitation analysis (TMPA): Quasi-global, multiyear, combined-sensor precipitation estimates at fine scales. J Hydrometeorol 8(1):38–55. https://doi.org/10.1175/JHM560.1
Hunt KMR, Turner AG, Inness PM, Parker DE, Levine RC (2016) On the structure and dynamics of Indian monsoon depressions. Mon Weather Rev 144(9):3391–3416. https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-15-0138.1
Joseph PV, Sabin TP (2008) An ocean-atmosphere interaction mechanism for the active break cycle of the Asian summer monsoon. Clim Dyn 30:553–566. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-007-0305-2
Joseph PV, Sijikumar S (2004) Intraseasonal variability of the low-level jet stream of the Asian summer monsoon. J Clim 17(7):1449–1458. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0442(2004)017<1449:IVOTLJ>2.0.CO;2
Krishnamurti TN, Ardanuy P (1980) The 10 to 20-day westward propagating mode and “breaks in the monsoons’’. Tellus 32(1):15–26. https://doi.org/10.3402/tellusa.v32i1.10476
Krishnamurti TN, Bhalme H (1976) Oscillations of a monsoon system. part i. observational aspects. J Atmos Sci 33(10):1937–1954
Krishnamurti TN, Thomas A, Simon A, Kumar V (2010) Desert air incursions, an overlooked aspect, for the dry spells of the Indian summer monsoon. J Atmos Sci 67(10):3423–3441. https://doi.org/10.1175/2010JAS3440.1
Krishnan R, Zhang C, Sugi M (2000) Dynamics of breaks in the Indian summer monsoon. J Atmos Sci 57(9):1354–1372. 10.1175/1520-0469(2000)057<1354:DOBITI>2.0.CO;2
Krishnan R, Kumar V, Sugi M, Yoshimura J (2009) Internal feedbacks from monsoon-midlatitude interactions during droughts in the Indian summer monsoon. J Atmos Sci 66(3):553–578. https://doi.org/10.1175/2008JAS2723.1
Kucharski F, Bracco A, Yoo JH, Tompkins AM, Feudale L, Ruti P, Dell’Aquila A (2009) A Gill-matsuno-type mechanism explains the tropical Atlantic influence on African and Indian monsoon rainfall. Q J R Meteorol Soc 135(640):569–579. https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.406
Liebmann B, Smith CA (1996) Description of a complete (interpolated) outgoing longwave radiation dataset. Bull Am Meteor Soc 77:1275–1277
Mujumdar M, Kumar V, Krishnan R (2007) The Indian summer monsoon drought of 2002 and its linkage with tropical convective activity over northwest pacific. Clim Dyn 28:743–758. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-006-0208-7
Neena JM, Suhas E, Goswami BN (2011) Leading role of internal dynamics in the 2009 Indian summer monsoon drought. J Geophys Res Atmos 116(D13):103. https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JD015328
Nie J, Boos WR, Kuang Z (2010) Observational evaluation of a convective quasi-equilibrium view of monsoons. J Clim 23(16):4416–4428. https://doi.org/10.1175/2010JCLI3505.1
Pai D, Sridhar L, Kumar MR (2016) Active and break events of Indian summer monsoon during 1901–2014. Clim Dyn 46(11):3921–3939
Pai DS, S L, Rajeevan M, Sreejith OP, Satbhai NS, Mukhopadyay B, (2014) Development of a new high spatial resolution (0.25\(^\circ \)\(\times \) 0.25\(^\circ \)) long period (1901–2010) daily gridded rainfall data set over india and its comparison with existing data sets over the region. MAUSAM 65:1–18
Pauluis O, Czaja A, Korty R (2008) The global atmospheric circulation on moist isentropes. Science 321:1075–1078. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1159649
Pottapinjara V, Girishkumar MS, Ravichandran M, Murtugudde R (2014) Influence of the Atlantic zonal mode on monsoon depressions in the Bay of Bengal during boreal summer. J Geophys Res Atmos 119(11):6456–6469. https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JD021494
Praveen V, Sandeep S, Ajayamohan RS (2015) On the relationship between mean monsoon precipitation and low pressure systems in climate model simulations. J Clim 28(13):5305–5324. https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-14-00415.1
Raghavan K (1973) Break-monsoon over India. Monthly Weather Rev 101(1):33–43. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0493(1973)101<0033:BOI>2.3.CO;2
Rajeevan M, Gadgil S, Bhate J (2010) Active and break spells of the Indian summer monsoon. J Earth Syst Sci 119:229–247. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-010-0019-4
Rajeevan M, Unnikrishnan C, Preethi B (2012) Evaluation of the ensembles multi-model seasonal forecasts of Indian summer monsoon variability. Clim Dyn 38:2257–2274. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-011-1061-x
Ramaswamy C (1962) Breaks in the Indian summer monsoon as a phenomenon of interaction between the easterly and the sub-tropical westerly jet streams. Tellus 14(3):337–349. https://doi.org/10.3402/tellusa.v14i3.9560
Reynolds RW, Smith TM, Liu C, Chelton DB, Casey KS, Schlax MG (2007) Daily high-resolution-blended analyses for sea surface temperature. J Clim 20(22):5473–5496
Rodwell MJ, Hoskins BJ (1996) Monsoons and the dynamics of deserts. Q J R Meteorol Soc 122(534):1385–1404. https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.49712253408
Rodwell MJ, Hoskins BJ (2001) Subtropical anticyclones and summer monsoons. J Clim 14(15):3192–3211. 10.1175/1520-0442(2001)014<3192:SAASM>2.0.CO;2
Roxy MK, Ghosh S, Pathak A, Athulya R, Mujumdar M, Murtugudde R, Terray P, Rajeevan M (2017) A threefold rise in widespread extreme rain events over central India. Nat Commun 8(1):1–11
Sabeerali CT, Ajayamohan RS, Bangalath HK, Chen N (2019) Atlantic zonal mode: An emerging source of Indian summer monsoon variability in a warming world. Geophys Res Lett 46(8):4460–4467. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL082379
Sabin TP, Pauluis OM (2020) The south Asian monsoon circulation in moist isentropic coordinates. J Clim 33(12):5253–5270. https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-19-0637.1
Sabin TP, Krishnan R, Ghattas J, Denvil S, Dufresne JL, Hourdin F, Pascal T (2013) High resolution simulation of the South Asian monsoon using a variable resolution global climate model. Clim Dyn 41:173–194. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-012-1658-8
Saha K (1974) Some aspects of the Arabian Sea summer monsoon. Tellus 26(4):464–476. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2153-3490.1974.tb01624.x
Sandeep S, Ajayamohan RS (2015) Poleward shift in Indian summer monsoon low level jetstream under global warming. Clim Dyn 45:337–351. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-014-2261-y
Sandeep S, Ajayamohan RS, Boos WR, Sabin TP, Praveen V (2018) Decline and poleward shift in Indian summer monsoon synoptic activity in a warming climate. Proc Natl Acad Sci 115(11):2681–2686. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1709031115
Sikka DR, Gadgil S (1980) On the maximum cloud zone and the ITCZ over Indian longitudes during the southwest monsoon. Mon Weather Rev 108(11):1840–1853. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0493(1980)108<1840:OTMCZA>2.0.CO;2
Singh D, Tsiang M, Rajaratnam B, Diffenbaugh NS (2014) Observed changes in extreme wet and dry spells during the south Asian summer monsoon season. Nat Clim Chang 4(6):456–461
Sooraj KP, Terray P, Masson S, Crétat J (2019) Modulations of the Indian summer monsoon by the hot subtropical deserts: insights from coupled sensitivity experiments. Clim Dyn 52(7):4527–4555. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-018-4396-8
Sooraj KP, Terray P, Shilin A, Mujumdar M (2020) Dynamics of rainfall extremes over india: a new perspective. Int J Climatol 40(12):5223–5245
Srinivasan J, Gadgil S, Webster PJ (1993) Meridional propagation of large-scale monsoon convective zones. Meteorl Atmos Phys 52:15–35. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01025750
Suhas E, Neena J, Goswami B (2013) An Indian monsoon intraseasonal oscillations (MISO) index for real time monitoring and forecast verification. Clim Dyn 40(11–12):2605–2616
Taraphdar S, Mukhopadhyay P, Goswami B (2010) Predictability of Indian summer monsoon weather during active and break phases using a high resolution regional model. Geophys Res Lett 37(21)
Terray P, Sooraj KP, Masson S, Krishna R, Samson G, Prajeesh A (2018) Towards a realistic simulation of boreal summer tropical rainfall climatology in state-of-the-art coupled models: role of the background snow-free land albedo. Clim Dyn 50(9):3413–3439
Townsend RD, Johnson DR (1985) A diagnostic study of the isentropic zonally averaged mass circulation during the first GARP global experiment. J Atmos Sci 42(15):1565–1579. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1985)042<1565:ADSOTI>2.0.CO;2
Tyrlis E, Lelieveld J, Steil B (2013) The summer circulation over the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle east: influence of the South Asian monsoon. Clim Dyn 40(5–6):1103–1123
Vecchi G, Delworth T, Murakami H et al. (2019) Tropical cyclone sensitivities to CO2 doubling: roles of atmospheric resolution, synoptic variability and background climate changes. Clim Dyn 53:5999–6033. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-019-04913-y
Vellore RK, Krishnan R, Pendharkar J, Choudhury AD, Sabin TP (2014) On the anomalous precipitation enhancement over the Himalayan foothills during monsoon breaks. Clim Dyn 43:2009–2031. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-013-2024-1
Vinoj V, Rasch PJ, Wang H, Yoon JH, Ma PL, Landu K, Singh B (2014) Short-term modulation of Indian summer monsoon rainfall by west Asian dust. Nat Geosci 7(4):308–313
Wang B, Webster P, Kikuchi K, Yasunari T, Qi Y (2006) Boreal summer quasi-monthly oscillation in the global tropics. Clim Dyn 27:661–675. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-006-0163-3
Webster P, Bradley EF, Fairall C, Godfrey J, Hacker P, Houze R Jr, Lukas R, Serra Y, Hummon J, Lawrence T et al (2002) The JASMINE pilot study. Bull Am Meteor Soc 83(11):1603–1630
Yasunari T (1980) A quasi-stationary appearance of 30 to 40 day period in the cloudiness fluctuations during the summer monsoon over India. J Meteor Soc Jpn 58(3):225–229
Acknowledgements
S. Sandeep acknowledges financial support by the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Government of India, through Startup Research Grant (SRG/2019/000065). ERA-Interim reanalysis data is available from https://apps.ecmwf.int/datasets/data/interim-full-daily/levtype=pl/. The IMD rainfall data is available from https://cdsp.imdpune.gov.in/home_gridded_data.php. The outgoing longwave radiation data is available from https://psl.noaa.gov/data/gridded/data.interp_OLR.html.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Singh, R., Sandeep, S. Dynamics of dry air intrusion over India during summer monsoon breaks. Clim Dyn 59, 1649–1664 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-021-06060-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-021-06060-9