Western Disturbances – Indian Winter Monsoon

Abstract

In this chapter, wintertime dynamics associated with large-scale flow and western disturbances (WDs) influencing winter precipitation is proposed and termed ‘Indian winter monsoon’. In Indian meteorological research, the northeast monsoon and Indian winter monsoon terms are interchangeable. In addition, winter precipitation – the Indian winter monsoon – is assumed to be similar to an extra-tropical cyclone traveling in large-scale westerlies. With concurrent research and the changing global context, increased understanding of the Indian winter monsoon is imperative. This chapter delineates the Indian winter monsoon while differentiating it from the northeast monsoon which so far is the prevalent term used in Indian meteorological parlance. Therefore, the present chapter provides comprehensive details on defining the Indian winter monsoon.