THE ONSET OF THE 2007 INDIAN MONSOON

INTRODUCTION

Each year between mid May and mid June, the summer monsoon, also called the southwest monsoon, begins in India
bringing heavy rain, as seen in the image on the right, and in some cases flooding. By July, the monsoon covers most of the Indian subcontinent. Technically, monsoon means a seasonal wind shift.  There are many parts of the world that receive
monsoon conditions; however, India has the most pronounced monsoon of anywhere on Earth.  In this report, I will discuss
the factors that create the normal development of India's monsoon and why the onset of the 2007 season was anything
but normal.
                                                                                                 A picture of monsoon rain in Kerala, India, courtesy of Wikipedia.
                                                                                                                           
By May 29, 2007, the summer monsoon began along India's southwest coast ahead of schedule, according to this chart from
 the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and PSU.  Ordinarily, the monsoon would have soon began at coastal towns such
as Ratnagiri, (RTI); however, this rainfall trace below tells a different story.  Even on June 9, the monsoon had not advanced
any further to the north.  It wasn't until June 13 that the northward progression of the monsoon continued.  In addition to
explaining the factors that create India's monsoon, I'm going to tell you why this delay occurred.


This rain trace from Ratnagiri shows that the monsoon didn't start until the middle of June, courtesy of IMD and PSU.


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