The rainfall pattern in North East (NE) India shows a large variation both spatially and temporally5 . Due to this, severe flood occurs frequently in the region. Therefore, it is important to study the variability of pre-monsoon and summer monsoon showers of the region in the geological past. The quantitative palaeomonsoonal record from NE India is poor.

Original Source

Precipitation samples were collected across the Himalayas from Kashmir (western Himalaya) to Assam (eastern Himalaya) to understand the variation of the stable isotopic content (δ 18O and δD) in precipitation associated with two dominant weather systems of the region: western disturbances (WDs) and Indian summer monsoon (ISM).

Original Source

Desert dust over the Indian region during pre-monsoon season is known to strengthen monsoon circulation, by modulating rainfall through the elevated heat pump (EHP) mechanism. In this context, an insight into long term trends of dust loading over this region is of signifcant importance in understanding monsoon variability.

In many terrestrial regions, higher than usual surface temperatures are associated with (or are even induced by) surface moisture deficits. When in the warm season temperatures become anomalously high, their extreme values affect human beings causing heat stress. Besides increased temperature, rising humidity may also have substantial implications for bodily thermal comfort. However, the effects of surface moisture on heat stress, when considering both temperature and humidity, are less known.

Socioeconomic challenges continue to mount for half a billion residents of central India because of a decline in the total rainfall and a concurrent rise in the magnitude and frequency of extreme rainfall events. Alongside a weakening monsoon circulation, the locally available moisture and the frequency of moisture-laden depressions from the Bay of Bengal have also declined. Here we show that despite these negative trends, there is a threefold increase in widespread extreme rain events over central India during 1950–2015.