How North American Warming Strengthens the South Asian Monsoon
UPSC Relevance
Prelims: Geography (World & Indian Geography - Climatology, Monsoon mechanism, Pressure Belts, Planetary Winds, Hadley Cell, ITCZ).
Mains:
General Studies Paper 1 (Geography): Salient features of world’s physical geography; Important Geophysical phenomena like monsoon; Factors responsible for the location of primary, secondary, and tertiary sector industries in various parts of the world (including India) - monsoon is a key factor for agriculture.
Key Highlights from the News
A new scientific study finds that North America plays a significant role in strengthening monsoon rainfall in South Asia, especially in India.
North America heating up during summer causes major changes in global air circulation.
This strengthens the North Pacific high-pressure system and causes a shift in the Hadley circulation.
These changes lead to winds carrying more moisture towards Asia, thereby increasing monsoon rainfall.
The study also suggests that, in the case of the Indian monsoon, this activity of North America can sometimes have a greater impact than the heating of the Tibetan Plateau.
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