Characteristics of Eurasian snow depth with respect to Indian summer monsoon rainfall

Abstract

Earlier studies show a strong negative relationship between Eurasian snow cover/depth and Indian summer monsoon rainfall (ISMR). In such studies, both the parameters snow and rainfall are seasonally averaged over large areas. Indian summer monsoon has its own characteristics of evolution such as onset, active, break and withdrawal phases which have been studied extensively. However, the evolution of Eurasian snow is yet to be examined. Further, it is interesting to explore the characteristics of evolution of snow over the different regions of Eurasia and their relationship with the evolution characteristics of summer monsoon. In this paper, a detailed examination has been done on the starting and the ending dates of snowfall over different regions of Eurasia and attempts have been made to explore any relationship with onset of ISMR. It is observed that the regions where snowfall started early, it also ended late. Further, in those regions maximum snow depth also occurred late. In some years, more snowfall in East Eurasia is followed by less snowfall in West Eurasia. Also snow depths particularly in the northernmost and southwest regions of East Eurasia are opposite in phase. The results of this study indicate a weak relationship between snow starting dates in Eurasia and summer monsoon onset dates in the Kerala coast. However, the relationship between the northernmost Eurasian snow depth and the summer monsoon precipitation in the Peninsular India is significant.