Past warm and cold spells in the Arctic influenced India’s monsoon

Past warm and cold spells in the Arctic influenced India’s monsoon

Subject: Environment

Section: Climate Change

Context: Warm and cold climatic spells in the Arctic, over the past 1000 years, imprinted on India’s monsoon fluctuations during that period, a climate reconstruction study finds.

More on the News:

• Scientists have reconstructed the past 1000 years of climate history from the Arctic, a region that’s warming faster than any other place on the planet.
• They’ve detected warm and cold climatic spells in the Arctic over the past 1000 years. Warm Arctic conditions were linked to intense rainfall over the Indian subcontinent while cold conditions in the Arctic were associated with weak spells of rain over the Indian subcontinent over the past 1000 years, say scientists at India’s National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR).
• Arctic’s influence on the short-term changes in the Indian monsoon may become more pronounced as the region experiences further human-driven warming.
• It is anticipated that the monsoon will intensifyalongside further Arctic warming, and the difference in precipitation between intense and weak monsoon years will also likely change.
• Warm/cold Arctic spells most likely modified the temperature profile of the Tibetan Plateau. The Plateau is an elevated heat source to the atmosphere because of its height and can influence monsoons by influencing the prevailing North-South temperature difference that exists in many forms during the monsoon- such as the land-sea temperature contrast.
• When the Arctic experiences a period of warming, it can cause a shift in the jet stream, which is a fast-moving, high-altitude wind that circles the Northern Hemisphere. This shift can then affect weather patterns in regions far away from the Arctic, such as the Indian subcontinent.

National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research

• National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) is an autonomous research institution of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India.
• It was established in 1998 and is located in Vasco da Gama, Goa.
• The primary objective of NCPOR is to conduct research in the polar and oceanic regions, with a focus on understanding the role of these regions in the global climate system. The institution carries out research in areas such as atmospheric science, oceanography, glaciology, geology, and marine biology.
• Some of the specific research activities carried out by NCPOR include:
  • Studying the impact of climate change on the polar regions and the oceans, and how this impacts global climate systems.
  • Investigating the role of oceanic currents and circulation patterns in global climate systems.
  • Studying the dynamics of glaciers and ice sheets, and how they are responding to climate change.
  • Conducting research on marine biodiversity, and how it is being impacted by climate change and other anthropogenic activities.
• In addition to research activities, NCPOR also undertakes various outreach and educational activities to promote awareness about polar and oceanic science among the general public and stakeholders.
• NCPOR is also responsible for coordinating India’s polar research activities, and has established research stations in Antarctica and the Arctic. The institution collaborates with several national and international organizations in conducting research and promoting scientific cooperation in the polar and oceanic regions.