Northeast Monsoon officially arrives by Steph Ball
This week the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has announced the official arrival of the Northeast Monsoon.
The NE Monsoon begins during the autumn and normally lasts October to December. It is during this monsoon season that southern India receives most of its rain, especially across the eastern half. It is sometimes called the “Retreating Monsoon” as it develops as the Southwest Summer Monsoon fades.
The NE Monsoon develops as the landmass of the Indian subcontinent begins to cool more rapidly than the surrounding ocean. As it does, pressure builds over northern India, producing a cold, dry, northeasterly wind, which sweeps down from the Himalayas towards the Indian Ocean. On route, this cold, dry wind picks up moisture from the Bay of Bengal and brings spells of heavy rain over peninsula India and Sri Lanka.
The southern state of Tamil Nadu and its capital city, Chennai, depend on the arrival of these monsoon rains to water their crops and also to replenish the groundwater.
While Chennai may be looking forward to the rain, in Sri Lanka, the arrival of heavy rain this week caused great concern. More than two hundred thousand refugees remain without shelter and exposed to the elements. The United Nations have said that if the situation continues it could result in a human disaster on a massive scale.
