In the spring, when I first started reporting on the South Asian monsoons over the phone for an article published this week, some of the people I spoke to asked to come to India and experience the rainy season for themselves. Recommended.
Ranjan Kelker, former head of the Indian Meteorological Department, said: “Come get soaked.
So i went. But I didn’t get drenched.
This is one of the many things I learned about monsoons during my two-week trip to India in August. It’s not the humid miasma that sinks like a blanket across the subcontinent from June to September, bringing constant precipitation.
Instead, monsoon rains come and go here and there. When I visited villages in Maharashtra, east of Mumbai, with very little application, one of the farmers I spoke with, Bhagwat Gagure, was worried about what would happen to his crops if the drought continued. rice field. At the same time, in the northwest, torrential rains hit Pakistan, flooding much of the country and killing more than 1,500 people.
The localized downpours and subsequent dry periods that characterize monsoons are changing as the world warms. As climate scientist girlfriend Roxy Mathew Koll said during a visit to the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune, there is more rain in less time and longer dry periods.
This makes the monsoon unreliable, creating problems for a region home to about 1.8 billion people, or a quarter of humanity.
The main reason for this change is that warmer air holds more moisture. It increases by about 7% for each degree Celsius increase. This applies not only to the Indian subcontinent, but also to other parts of the world. Hurricane Ian, which slammed Florida last week, recorded about 10% more precipitation than the world without warming, according to one simple analysis.
In South Asia there is a lot of humidity that warm air can hold. This is a function of the monsoon mechanics, and graphics colleagues Jeremy White and Zach Levitt described it in such skill for this article. Land heating in spring and summer draws in air from the Arabian Sea. And evaporation of the Arabian Sea is a virtually inexhaustible source of water.
The four months of the monsoon provide most of India’s water. Therefore, changes in how and when rain falls or does not rain can have significant impacts. Bangalore, formerly known as Bangalore, has a metropolitan population of 13 million, but this summer has proven to be an uphill road after being hit by massive flooding.
Too much water too quickly for a farmer like Gagre can cause much of it to be lost, washed into rivers and streams, and unavailable as groundwater later in the year. Much of the time spent in other villages was spent seeing and talking about water conservation initiatives implemented with the support of the non-profit Watershed Organization Trust.
These efforts include altering the landscape by digging trenches in slopes and planting more trees to slow runoff so more water can seep into the ground. But it also includes educational efforts, such as teaching villagers how to establish an annual water balance, monitor groundwater, and change crops and planting practices to reduce water use.
All these steps are very important in a village like Gagre. In the past, he’d run out of water in January or February, months before it rained. For me it was fascinating to watch and learn. I didn’t mind getting soaked.
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Important news from The Times
Comfortable and sustainable living: The average Uruguayan carbon footprint is less than one-fifth that of Americans. The New York Times Magazine investigated why.
Here’s the analysis: A new study finds that global warming has made many countries at least 20 times more likely to experience severe drought this summer than it was a century ago.
Florida Climate Politics: Republican leaders in the state have a history of rejecting major climate-related legislation. Now, after Hurricane Ian, they are seeking federal aid.
After the flood, mold: Mold growth may be one of the most devastating long-term hidden costs of America’s increasingly humid, rainy, and stormy climate.
Kathmandu got tap water but lost it: It took decades to bring clean tap water to the capital of Nepal. Floods caused by climate change have rapidly destroyed the system.
Aiming for zero extinction: Australia has the highest rate of seed loss in the world. The government is now planning to prevent further losses.
Before You Go: A Philosophy for Difficult Times
If you spend a lot of time thinking about climate, you might want to read “Life is Hard.” A new book by philosophy professor Kieran Setiya argues that we live well even when we admit hard truths. Our reviewer likened it to a conversation with a thoughtful friend . He will never tell you to cheer up, but offering companionship and a change of perspective will make you feel better anyway.