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Combined effect of MJO, ENSO and IOD on the intraseasonal variability of northeast monsoon rainfall over south peninsular India

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Abstract

The present study has examined the combined effect of MJO, ENSO and IOD on the intraseasonal and interannual variability of northeast monsoon rainfall over south peninsular India. The study has revealed that the intraseasonal variation of daily rainfall over south peninsular India during NEM season is associated with various phases of eastward propagating MJO life cycle. Positive rainfall anomaly over south peninsular India and surrounding Indian Ocean (IO) is observed during the strong MJO phases 2, 3 and 4; and negative rainfall anomaly during the strong MJO phases 5,6,7,8 and 1. Above normal (below normal) convection over south peninsular India and suppressed convection over east Indian and West Pacific Ocean, high pressure (low pressure) anomaly over West Pacific Ocean, Positive (negative) SST anomalies over equatorial East and Central Pacific Ocean and easterly wind anomaly (westerly anomaly) over equatorial Indian Ocean are the observed features during the first three MJO (5, 6, 7) phases and all these features are observed in the excess (drought) NEMR composite. This suggests that a similar mode of physical mechanism is responsible for the intraseasonal and interannual variability of northeast monsoon rainfall. The number of days during the first three phases (last four phases) of MJO, where the enhanced convection and positive rainfall anomaly is over Indian Ocean (East Indian ocean and West Pacific Ocean), is more (less) during El Nino and IOD years and less during La Nina and NIOD years and vice versa. The observed excess (deficit) rainfall anomaly over west IO and south peninsular India and deficit (excess) rainfall anomaly over east IO including Bay of Bengal and West Pacific Ocean suggest that the more (less) number of first three phases during El Nino and IOD (La Nina and Negative IOD) is due to the interaction between eastward moving MJO and strong easterlies over equatorial IO present during El Nino and IOD years. This interaction would inhibit the development of long duration MJO and would result in short duration high frequency MJO type which confined over Indian Ocean and south peninsular India and hence make all the El Nino and IOD years to be excess rainfall years for NEM season.

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Acknowledgements

The author is thankful to Dr. M. Rajeevan for his valuable suggestions. One of the authors (MSA) is thankful to SERB for providing National post-doctoral fellowship. The author is grateful to Mr.Abhijit for the manuscript correction. The author sincerely thanks both the anonymous reviewers, whose comments and critiques improved the quality of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, India

    P. P. Sreekala & S. Vijaya Bhaskara Rao

  2. National Centre for Earth Science Studies, Trivandrum, India

    K. Rajeevan

  3. EWRE Division, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India

    M. S. Arunachalam

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  1. P. P. Sreekala
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  2. S. Vijaya Bhaskara Rao
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  3. K. Rajeevan
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  4. M. S. Arunachalam
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Correspondence to P. P. Sreekala.

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Sreekala, P.P., Rao, S.V., Rajeevan, K. et al. Combined effect of MJO, ENSO and IOD on the intraseasonal variability of northeast monsoon rainfall over south peninsular India. Clim Dyn 51, 3865–3882 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-018-4117-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-018-4117-3

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