An intensifying El Nino and global warming are driving a shift in India¡¯s monsoon rainfall, creating more erratic weather patterns that threaten to dent agricultural output and strain power grids.
This year¡¯s monsoon opened with India¡¯s fifth-driest June on record and rainfall almost 40% below normal levels, followed by a sudden deluge early this month ¡ª when about a month¡¯s worth of precipitation was dumped on cities like Mumbai in a single week. Since then, the weather system has stalled into another break, with national rainfall about 24% lower than usual for the time of year as of July 19.
¡°The number of rainy days and how they are distributed used to be smoother. That¡¯s how farmers developed their crop calendars over the years,¡± said Raghuram Murtugudde, visiting professor at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur and an emeritus professor at the University of Maryland. ¡°Global warming combined with El Ni?o makes the atmosphere act like a sponge that soaks a lot of water and then pours it all in one place.¡±
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.