Guest guest Posted August 18, 2005 Report Share Posted August 18, 2005 India may run out of monsoons Sify News Washington: A new study conducted by researchers at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research suggests that the Indian monsoon could run dry because of human impacts on the environment. According to 'Nature', the team led by Kirsten Zickfeld said that the monsoon has two major settings: on, as at present, and off, when it produces very little rainfall. Even a minor change in monsoon timing or intensity can have a big impact. "If the rains are delayed by just a few days, that affects the agricultural yields," Zickfeld added. They showed that changes in land use and air pollution on the Indian continent are pushing conditions towards the off state. The monsoon is driven by an air-pressure difference between the land and the Indian Ocean. Usually, the hot season creates low-pressure zones over the warm continent and air rushes in from the higher-pressure zone over the water, bringing rain to the land. Anything that reduces this pressure difference - such as cooler land temperatures - can weaken the monsoon. And once the weakening exceeds a certain threshold, the climate switches into a new state in which moist air over the ocean is no longer carried inland. In India and Southeast Asia, several factors are causing less sunlight to warm the ground. There are more aerosols, because of industrial growth and greater vehicle use, which reflect light back into space. And clearing forests for farmland is replacing dark, light-absorbing treetops with lighter, more reflective soil. http://www.samachar.com/newsasia/fullstory.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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