Influence of the Pacific–Japan Pattern on Indian Summer Monsoon Rainfall

Abstract

Abstract This study discusses the impact of the Pacific–Japan (PJ) pattern on Indian summer monsoon (ISM) rainfall and its possible physical linkages through coupled and uncoupled pathways. Empirical orthogonal function analysis of 850-hPa relative vorticity over the western North Pacific (WNP) is used to extract the PJ pattern as the leading mode of circulation variability. The partial correlation analysis of the leading principal component reveals that the positive PJ pattern, which features anticyclonic and cyclonic low-level circulation anomalies over the tropical WNP and around Japan respectively, enhances the rainfall over the southern and northern parts of India. The northwestward propagating Rossby waves, in response to intensified convection over the Maritime Continent reinforced by low-level convergence in the southern flank of westward extended tropical WNP anticyclone, increase rainfall over southern peninsular India. Meanwhile, the anomalous moisture transport from the warm Bay of Bengal due to anomalous southerlies at the western edge of the low-level anticyclone extending from the tropical WNP helps to enhance the rainfall over northern India. The atmospheric general circulation model forced with climatological sea surface temperature confirms this atmospheric pathway through the westward propagating Rossby waves. Furthermore, the north Indian Ocean (NIO) warming induced by easterly wind anomalies along the southern periphery of the tropical WNP–NIO anticyclone enhances local convection, which in turn feeds back to the WNP convection anomalies. This coupled nature via interbasin feedback between the PJ pattern and NIO is confirmed using coupled model sensitivity experiments. These results are important in identifying new sources of ISM variability/predictability on the interannual time scale.