Indian Summer Monsoon Season Research Articles

Projected climatic exposure and velocities of precipitation extremes over India and its biogeographic zones

AbstractClimate change is leading to alterations in the dynamic and thermodynamic climate systems worldwide, including the Indian summer monsoon (ISM), which supports more than a billion population and drives the Indian economy. The anthropogenic climate change induces unprecedented transformations in the natural and ecological systems, such as the increased probability of precipitation extremes, changes in their frequency, duration and spatial variabilities. This current study aims to project the regional landscape‐based metric, velocity of climate change (VoCC) and associated climatic exposure regarding precipitation extremes (PEs) for India and its different biogeographic zones. The climate velocities of mean precipitation, 95th, 99.5th and 99.9th percentiles of precipitation for the ISM season are presented for the historical and three projected time slices under the RCP8.5 scenario. ROM, a state‐of‐the‐art regional earth system model over the CORDEX‐South Asia domain, was used in the study. It was observed that the intense and very intense rainfall (95th, 99.5th and 99.9th percentiles) was enhanced over most of the study region in the near‐ and mid‐future compared to the far‐future. The intense rainfall exhibited higher climate velocity than the mean and very intense precipitation in the near‐future. The southern part of the Indian subcontinent usually displayed positive VoCC values for the historical and near‐future time slices compared to the northern part of the Indian peninsula, particularly the intense and very intense precipitation. The climatic exposure for all‐India was also higher in the near‐ and mid‐future compared to the far‐future, especially for the intense rainfall followed by the mean and very intense rainfall. These results suggest the need for focusing the adaptation and mitigation measures towards managing the near‐term impacts of PEs in relation to the long‐term impacts, especially on the country's diverse flora.

Unraveling Subseasonal Drought Dynamics in India: Insights from NCMRWF Extended Range Prediction System

Abstract Drought, a prolonged natural event, profoundly impacts water resources and societies, particularly in agriculturally dependent nations like India. This study focuses on subseasonal droughts during the Indian summer monsoon season using standardized precipitation index (SPI). Analyzing hindcasts from the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF) Extended Range Prediction (NERP) system spanning 1993–2015, we assess NERP’s strengths and limitations. NERP replicates climatic patterns well but overestimates rainfall in the Himalayan foothills and the Indo-Gangetic Plain while underestimating it in the core monsoon zone and western coastline. Nonetheless, the NERP system demonstrates its ability to predict subseasonal drought conditions across India. Our research explores the model’s dynamics, emphasizing tropical and extratropical influences. We evaluate the impact of monsoon intraseasonal oscillation (MSIO) and Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) on drought onset and persistence, noting model performance and discrepancies. While the model consistently identifies MSIO locations, variations in phase propagation affect drought severity in India. Remarkably, NERP excels in predicting MJO phases during droughts. The study underscores the robust response in the near-equatorial Indian Ocean, a crucial factor in subseasonal drought development. Furthermore, we explored upper-level dynamic interactions, demonstrating NERP’s ability to capture subseasonal drought dynamics. For example, unusual westerly winds weaken the tropical easterly jet, and a cyclonic anomaly transports cold air at midlevels and upper levels. These interactions reduce thermal contrast, weakening monsoon flow and favoring drought conditions. Hence, the NERP system demonstrates its skill in assessing prevailing drought conditions and associated teleconnection patterns, enhancing our understanding of subseasonal droughts and their complex triggers.

Projection of mean and extreme precipitation and air temperature over India: a CMIP6 analysis

ABSTRACT This study used 15 Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) models to analyze the mean and extreme projection precipitation during the Indian summer monsoon (ISM) season, i.e., June to September (JJAS). A continuous rise in precipitation and its associated unpredictability were predicted by global climate models using the CMIP6. The extreme values are estimated on the basis of generalized extreme value (GEV) distribution. Four socioeconomic paths are used as SSP126, SSP245, SSP370 and SSP585 to understand the impact of low-emission to high-emission scenarios. In all the scenarios, it is seen that all the models predict a significant rise in JJAS mean and extreme precipitation. Moreover, a strong correlation is obtained between the historical (1995–2014) and near-emission future simulation (2021–2040), mid-emission future simulation (2041–2060), high-emission future simulations (2081–2100) of air temperature and precipitation. In extreme emission scenarios, ensemble mean of CMIP6 models shows an increasing amplitude in surface air temperature and precipitation over India in the near future (2021–2040), mid future (2041–2060) and the end of the century (2081–2100). The CMIP6 simulations mainly support the results of all models, but they also demonstrate improved robustness across models.

Observational evidence of the relationship between the tropical tropopause and tropical easterly jet streams over the Indian monsoon region

AbstractThis paper presents the first quantitative relationship between the cold point tropopause (CPT) and tropical easterly jet (TEJ) using radiosonde observations over Gadanki (13.45° N, 79.2° E) during the Indian summer monsoon season 2006–2014. CPT and TEJ peak altitudes () show amalgams of two categories of variability on the day‐to‐day scale. In category1 occurs close to and they show in‐phase variation. While in Category2 occurs far apart from and they do not show any relationship. For Category1 and are strongly correlated (0.70), as well as and (CPT temperature) are moderately anticorrelated (−0.55) significant at a 95% confidence level, indicating the dominance of adiabatic processes. Whereas in Category2 and are not significantly anti‐correlated. Thus, when TEJ and CPT are close to each other, it may serve as an indicator for the prevalence of the synoptic‐scale effect.

Interdecadal variability of the pre-monsoon cyclone characteristics over the Bay of Bengal

The low-pressure systems intensified to cyclones prior to the onset of the Indian summer monsoon season over the North Indian Ocean are referred to as pre-monsoon season (PMS) cyclones. Climate change is amplifying the pre-monsoon cyclone landscape, fostering more frequent and intense storms with altered tracks, resulting in heightened risks for coastal communities and economies. This study investigates the interdecadal variations in tropical cyclone and key large-scale atmospheric parameters that influence the characteristics of cyclones, including track, frequency over the Bay of Bengal (BoB) during the pre-monsoon season from 60 years of data. The large-scale atmospheric parameters are analyzed by calculating climatological anomalies. It is noted that the frequency of cyclones making landfall over the eastern Indian coastal landmass has increased in the recent decade compared to the past five decades. Compared to the past fifty years, the percentage frequency has increased in the recent ten years by 50%. At the low level, stronger easterlies are dominant and upper-level jet streams shift to lower latitudes, indicating that the path of cyclones has shifted from the north (N)-northeast (NE) to the northwest (NW), i.e. towards the east Indian coastal landmass, over the recent decade. In contrast to the previous five decades, an unusual low-pressure region has emerged over the NW India and Pakistan regions, creating a favorable path for cyclones moving towards the Indian region in recent decade. Cyclones have been more intense in the recent decade than they were in the previous five decades, according to the rise in low- and mid-level specific humidity and temperature over the BoB.

Precipitation Scaling in Extreme Rainfall Events and the Implications for Future Indian Monsoon: Analysis of High‐Resolution Global Climate Model Simulations

AbstractThe increase in water holding capacity of the atmosphere with temperature, given by the Clausius‐Clapeyron (CC) relationship, describes the changes in extreme rainfall intensities at warmer atmospheric states. We study the characteristics of extreme rainfall events (EREs) during the Indian summer monsoon season with respect to thermodynamic changes and precipitation‐scaling over the Indian subcontinent and its homogeneous rainfall zones. We utilize outputs from a present‐day climate simulation and a time‐slice future climate change projection experiments of a high‐resolution global climate model. Large changes are seen for very EREs (vEREs) which suggests their sensitivity to warmer temperatures. In future, the altered radiative forcing will heat up the upper atmosphere, stabilize it and offset the effect of increasing humidity on precipitation intensity. Our analysis also suggests that more convective clouds and the interplay of increased moisture content and circulation will result in future changes in EREs.

Improvement in the skill of CMIP6 decadal hindcasts for extreme rainfall events over the Indian summer monsoon region

Decadal climate predictions have been widely used to predict the near-term climate information relevant for decision-making at multi-year timescales. In the present study, we evaluate the quality of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase-6 (CMIP6) Decadal Climate Prediction Project (DCPP) hindcasts in capturing the extreme rainfall events (EREs) over the monsoon core region during Indian summer monsoon season (June–September) up to lead years 1–10. For the first time, in this study, we have used quantile mapping approach to downscale and bias correct the DCPP CMIP6 simulation/hindcast rainfall for the better representation of EREs. Detailed analysis suggests that the models in general strongly underestimate the rainfall variability over the summer monsoon region. However, after the downscaling and bias correction, the representation of rainfall variability and intensity improved multifold. The bias-corrected decadal hindcasts in fact show ~ 80% improvement in capturing the frequency, intensity, and spatial distribution of rainfall associated with the EREs. Present study brought out a downscaled DCPP product, with potential prediction skill for EREs over India. It is important to highlight that the models predict an increase in the small and medium-area EREs as compared to the large-area EREs over the monsoon core region for the decade 2019–2028.

Observation of a dramatic increase in the positive cloud-to-ground lightning in the Indian summer monsoon season

Lightning is known for its meteorological importance and associated hazard potential. It is known that the polarity of cloud-to-ground flash (CG) can act as a prognosis of the storm's characteristics. Ground-based observation of lightning over the Indian region suggests that during the break period in the summer monsoon seasons, CG lightning of positive polarity increases dramatically relative to the pre-monsoon days. Here we propose that for thunderstorms forming in the wet season, the non-inductive charge separation happens in the presence of larger mean cloud liquid water in the mixed phase region of the storms. This facilitates the positive charging of graupel particles, thereby producing a large amount of positive CG lightning on these days. This observation is found to be consistent with the laboratory results of Takahashi (1978). The implication of these results has been discussed from the perspective of hazard mitigation associated with positive lightning over India.

Two-phase hydrological changes during the mid-to late Holocene transition in Southwest China

The Indian summer monsoon (ISM) rainfall feeds a vast majority of the densely populated Asian continent. A deep understanding of the ISM rainfall variations and the underlying driving mechanisms during the Holocene is essential to predict its future behaviors and formulate improved mitigating strategies under the context of global warming. It has been widely recognized that the ISM intensity declined from the early to late Holocene, with a mid-to late Holocene transition. However, the nature of hydrological changes during this critical transition still remains vague. In this study, hydrological changes in Southwest China during the mid-to late Holocene transition are reconstructed based on the molecular and compound-specific carbon and hydrogen isotopic compositions of leaf waxes (δ13C and δD of n-alkanes) from the Yanjiang peat deposit in western Yunnan. Results reveal two-phase changes of hydroclimate during the mid-to late Holocene transition in Southwest China. During the first phase (5.5–4.2 cal kyr BP), Southwest China experienced an abrupt drying as indicated by the pronounced increases in both δ13C and δD values of the C29n-alkane (δ13CC29 and δDC29) by 2.2% and 26‰, respectively. The second phase (4.2–2.6 cal kyr BP) witnessed shortening in the duration of the ISM season without further aridification, as demonstrated by an increase up to 35‰ in the δDC29 values and moderate oscillations in the δ13CC29 values. Such a two-phase hydrological transition is likely to have been triggered by the changes in the summer solar insolation and amplified by the ocean-atmosphere interactions. The first phase is primarily modulated by the positive Indian Ocean Dipole mean state, while the second phase is mainly linked with a more El Niño-like mean state over the Pacific Ocean.

Characteristics of the strong winds on the exit region of the Palghat gap during the Indian summer monsoon season

Characteristics of the strong winds on the exit region of the Palghat gap during the Indian summer monsoon season

Coupling of hydrography and bio-optical constituents in a shallow optically complex region using ten years of in-situ data

Using ten years of in-situ data from a shallow optically complex coastal ecosystem, this study unravels the coupling between bio-optical variability and seasonally changing hydrography. The data presented is novel, as these are long-term simultaneous measurements of bio-optical properties and constituents covering a wide range of hydrographic conditions at different sampling stations in riverine, estuarine, and coastal shelf. The data represent all three seasons experienced in the region, i.e., Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM), post-ISM, and pre-ISM. It allowed us to conduct a baseline study to characterize the bio-optical variability (absorption or scattering dominated) coupled with stratification for remote sensing applications on ecological health. Four groups of sampling stations, representing varying hydrography, were identified as riverine, maximum stratification, maximum chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentration, and estuarine/shelf. The maximum concentrations of total suspended matter (TSM) were always collocated with the strongest stratification site, while maximum Chl-a was always located downstream of maximum stratification. Surprisingly, colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) values were negligible in the ISM season and increased manifold in other seasons. The source of CDOM (either land-derived or in situ generated) inferred from the spectral slope revealed the dominance of land-derived CDOM in the post-ISM season. Combining the entire data into the same groups showed that groups with maximum TSM and samples from estuarine locations were scattering-dominated. In contrast, the group with maximum Chl-a was absorption dominated. The analysis revealed that the optical behavior of the sampling locations being either absorption or scattering dominated depended on the state of stratification and contribution of Chl-a to the absorption budget.

Lightning activity and Convective Available Potential Energy during different phases of Indian summer monsoon season over central region of India

Lightning activity and Convective Available Potential Energy during different phases of Indian summer monsoon season over central region of India

Role of land surface processes on Indian summer monsoon rainfall: Understanding and impact assessment

Indian Summer Monsoon is a synoptic-scale atmospheric circulation system manifested by the boundary forcing from both continents and tropical oceans. Unlike oceans, the land surface processes are complex in nature due to the heterogeneities in land surface characteristics and its associated feedbacks, thereby constraining theaccurate representation of the land surface in NWP models. Thus, understanding the land-atmosphere interaction becomes increasingly crucial especially during the Indian summer monsoon season due to the underlying warm and moist surface layer conducive forevapotranspiration, thereby fueling land atmosphere coupling during the season. The representation of surface heterogeneity and variability are constrained due to lack of surface measurements which necessitate development of land surface analysis. The major aimof the present studyisthree-fold;firstly, understanding land surfaces processes associated with the monsoonal rainfall events, secondly, preparation of a state-of-art high-resolution land surface data over India, andfinally, impact assessment of high-resolution land surface initialization on simulation monsoonalrainfall events. This study has implications for developing improved prediction system associated with the Indian Summer Monsoon.
 Indian Summer Monsoon is a synoptic-scale atmospheric circulation system manifested by the boundary forcing from both continents and tropical oceans. Unlike oceans, the land surface processes are complex in nature due to the heterogeneities in land surface characteristics and its associated feedbacks, thereby constraining theaccurate representation of the land surface in NWP models. Thus, understanding the land-atmosphere interaction becomes increasingly crucial especially during the Indian summer monsoon season due to the underlying warm and moist surface layer conducive forevapotranspiration, thereby fueling land atmosphere coupling during the season. The representation of surface heterogeneity and variability are constrained due to lack of surface measurements which necessitate development of land surface analysis. The major aimof the present studyisthree-fold;firstly, understanding land surfaces processes associated with the monsoonal rainfall events, secondly, preparation of a state-of-art high-resolution land surface data over India, andfinally, impact assessment of high-resolution land surface initialization on simulation monsoonalrainfall events. This study has implications for developing improved prediction system associated with the Indian Summer Monsoon.

Characterization of deep convective cells during the Indian summer monsoon using C-band polarimetric Doppler Weather Radar observations over Thumba (8.5o N, 77o E)

The vertical structure and dynamics of deep convective clouds plays an important role during the Indian summer monsoon period. The characteristics of deep convective cells (DCC) and their microphysics remain unclear, especially during the Indian summer monsoon (ISM). Further, the intensity of convection is an important element, which plays a key role in the progression of the monsoon. The present study focuses on characterizing DCC over a coastal location Thumba (8.50 N, 770 E) during the Indian summer monsoon periods of 2017, 2018 and 2019 using C-band polarimetric Doppler Weather Radar (DWR) measurements in terms of their intensity, vertical extent, top heights and their microphysical properties. A method is devised to identify the DCC from the DWR observed reflectivity cross-sections. The results showed that the occurrence of reflectivities in the range of 25–35 dBZ dominates below 6 km and the reflectivities in the range of 10–20 dBZ dominates above 6 km. The diurnal evolution of 40 dBZ depth radar echoes in DCC were analysed for June–September months, which showed peaks at preferential timings. The mean diurnal evolution of DCC also been investigated and it is found that these systems peak at three local time intervals viz., 00–05, 13–16 and 19–23 h during ISM period. Further, a separate analysis has been carried out for land and oceanic region for 40 dBZ depth radar echoes in DCC. The analysis show that the occurrence of 40 dBZ depth radar echoes peak at early-morning and late-night over the ocean and afternoon and late night over the land regions. The present results provide a quantitative assessment of DCC including their diurnal evolution during the Indian summer monsoon season over Thumba using DWR observations for the first time.

Epochal Changes in the Intrinsic Nature/Dynamics of Flood and Drought During Indian Summer Monsoon

AbstractThe basic and derived meteorological parameters, are important factors that affect the epochal changes of monsoonal drought/flood events which consequently influence the socio‐economic aspects of India. The anomalous tricade departure of parameters namely rainfall, surface pressure, surface temperature, zonal and meridional wind, cloud cover (CC), outgoing longwave radiation, latent heat flux (LHF), sensible heat flux, net incoming shortwave radiation flux and net heat flux (NHF) have been considered between past, and recent tricade respectively drought and flood events. An anomalous decrease (−3 to −2 mm/d) in rainfall over the southern Arabian sea (AS), southern peninsular India and Bay of Bengal during past and recent tricade, on the other side increase (2–2.5 mm/d) in rainfall over the equatorial Indian ocean (EIO) during drought. The drought episode of the recent tricade is showing basin wise significant increase in LHF (20–30 W/m2) and decrease in NHF (−30 to −60 W/m2) from the Somali coast to Indonesian region which is linked with changing oceanic processes linked with the Indian ocean warming. The comparison of past and recent monsoonal flood has shown decrease in the CC over EIO and AS region which supported anomalous highest departure in LHF (12 W/m2) over EIO. A direct association of dry and moist static energy variations have been found to be linked with the surface fluxes during Indian summer monsoon season. Further, epochal differences of vertically integrated moisture flux convergence is consistent with flood/drought rainfall anomaly. Thus, radiative imbalance also plays a secondary role in determining epochal nature of drought/flood variability and its nature.

Impacts of the Indian Summer Monsoon on the Southern Boundary Water Vapor Transport and Precipitation over the Tibetan Plateau

Water vapor transport plays a significant role in maintaining the water cycle over the Tibetan Plateau (TP). This study investigates the characteristics of water vapor transport across the TP southern boundaries and its impacts on TP precipitation during the Indian summer monsoon (ISM) season from 2000 to 2019. The southern boundary is subdivided into four sub-boundaries from the east to the west: boundaries 7 (100°–95° E), 8 (95°–89° E), 9 (89°–80° E), and 10 (80°–70° E) (B7, B8, B9, and B10). ISM can affect the water vapor transports of B7, B8, and B9, while mid-latitude westerlies dominate the water vapor transport of B10. An area with concentrated spatial precipitation in both strong and weak ISM months is regarded as a precipitation concentration region (PCR). The results show that the PCR precipitation is smaller in the weak ISM month than in the normal month for most of the day, while it is larger in the strong ISM month than in the normal month. The PCR precipitation difference from afternoon to evening in strong and weak ISM months between normal months shows a dependency on the water vapor transport of B8 and B10. Water vapor transported across B9 also contributes to the increased PCR precipitation in the afternoon. The PCR precipitation shows a more dependable relationship to the water vapor from the BoB and the Arabian Sea in strong ISM months than in weak ISM months. Conversely, the water vapor transport efficiency is low in strong ISM months due to a cyclonic circulation over northern India, preventing water vapor transport from reaching the TP directly.

A study on the anomalous TOA net radiative warming by clouds in a sub-region within the Indian summer monsoon region

Indian summer monsoon clouds generally exert a net radiative cooling at top of atmosphere. In contrast, clouds over a sub-region comprising parts of South peninsular India, Sri Lanka and adjoining Bay of Bengal (SISB) inside the Indian monsoon region exert a net radiative warming. In this work, an attempt is made to understand the reasons behind the anomalous radiative warming found over SISB. Ten-year (2000–2009) top of atmosphere radiative flux data from Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System payloads onboard Aqua and Terra satellites and cloud data from International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project during the peak Indian summer monsoon season of July–August are analyzed to understand the underlying causes. Top of Atmosphere net radiative forcing is positive and as high as ∼15 Wm−2 over SISB during the peak Indian summer monsoon season.Cloud cover amounts over SISB with net radiative warming and north Bay of Bengal with net radiative cooling are compared. Cloud cover amounts of high-level cirrostratus and deep convective cumulonimbus clouds are less by 65% and 87% respectively over SISB when compared to north Bay of Bengal. SISB is located on the leeward side of the Western Ghats mountain chain with descending motion. Adiabatic compression and associated warming of descending air leads to dehydration of air parcel. The upper tropospheric tropical easterly jet sweeps the deep convective cloud tops of the Indian monsoon and advect them to large distance as upper level thin cirrus family of clouds. When these clouds reach SISB with descending motion, they thin out by melting and evaporation or sublimation as the air mass is compressed and heated adiabatically. Over SISB, pressure vertical velocity at 500 hPa is moderately inversely correlated to cloud cover amount of cirrostratus and cumulonimbus clouds. Cloud cover amount of these two clouds is significantly correlated to shortwave cloud radiative forcing and longwave cloud radiative forcing over SISB. When cloud cover amount of cirrostratus and cumulonimbus clouds are low (<∼15% and <∼5% respectively), magnitude of longwave cloud radiative forcing is mostly higher than the magnitude of shortwave cloud radiative forcing which results in net radiative warming. Reduction in cloud cover amount of cirrostratus and cumulonimbus clouds by subsidence appears to be the cause behind the observed warming over SISB. When the magnitude of shortwave cloud radiative forcing is below (above) ∼55 Wm−2, longwave cloud radiative forcing is more (less) than the magnitude of shortwave cloud radiative forcing which results in net warming (cooling). Net radiative warming is found in 65% of grid points over SISB.

Assessment of climate change of different meteorological state variables during Indian summer monsoon season

Assessment of climate change of different meteorological state variables during Indian summer monsoon season

Inconsistent response of biophysical characteristics in the western Bay of Bengal associated with positive Indian Ocean dipole

The Bay of Bengal (BoB) is known to have high primary productivity at its western margin during the Indian summer monsoon season (June–September). This higher coastal productivity is mainly caused due to the near-surface nutrient availability maintained by the local coastal upwelling process. The surface winds in the Indian Ocean significantly vary during El-Niño/La-Niña and Indian Ocean dipole (IOD). The current study examines the sea surface temperature (SST) and Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) anomalies in the western BoB for the period of 18 years (2000 to 2017), using a coupled regional ocean biophysical model. All considered positive IOD (pIOD) years show discrete behavior of biophysical features in the western BoB. The co-occurrence years of pIOD and El-Niño modes are associated with contrast biophysical anomalies. In the analyzed pIOD events, the years 2006 and 2012 show an enhancement in the Chl-a anomalies whereas, the other two years (2015 and 2017) experience Chl-a decrement. The western BoB was anomalously warmer during the 2015 and 2017 pIOD years compared to the other two pIOD years (2006, 2012). This inconsistent response of biophysical features associated with pIOD years is investigated in terms of local surface flux (momentum, heat, and freshwater) changes over the western BoB. The combined impact of local surface flux changes during the individual years remains the major contributing factor affecting the upper-ocean stratification. Ultimately, the stratification changes are responsible for the observed inconsistent response of biophysical features by significantly altering the upper-ocean mixing, upwelling, and nutrient availability in the western BoB.

Assessing the quality of novel Aeolus winds for NWP applications at NCMRWF

AbstractThis study illustrates the validation of Aeolus Horizontal Line‐Of‐Sight (HLOS) winds, both Rayleigh‐clear and Mie‐cloudy, using in situ satellite wind (Atmospheric Motion Vectors, AMVs) observations, and NWP equivalents for three months, June–August 2020, covering the Indian summer monsoon season. Estimated errors in the Mie‐cloudy (Rayleigh‐clear) winds are clustered around 0.5–4 m·s−1 (3–8 m·s−1), and the differences between Aeolus Mie‐cloudy (Rayleigh‐clear) and sonde winds are within ±5 m·s−1 (± 8 m·s−1), but the systematic error is close to zero over the Northern Hemisphere where there are more sonde reports. Validation shows the quality of Mie‐cloudy winds is better than Rayleigh‐clear winds. Though the comparison against the observations like sonde (radiosonde and pilot balloons together) and aircraft indicate the quality of the Aeolus winds, their sparse spatial and temporal coverage limits the validation. Validation of Aeolus winds against AMVs provides similar results but with a better and nearly complete picture of the quality and quantity, with more information over the data‐sparse and remote regions. Statistical scores suggest the characteristics of the Aeolus winds at different vertical levels and geographical regions remain the same irrespective of the validation reference datasets. The Indian summer monsoon features like Low‐Level Jet (LLJ) and Tropical Easterly Jet (TEJ) are well represented in the Aeolus winds. This study also investigated the impact of the Aeolus HLOS winds over the Indian region through the collocated radiosonde and ALADIN wind profile assimilation experiments. Observing System Experiments (OSEs) suggest assimilation of Aeolus winds produced marginal improvement in the simulation of north Indian Ocean cyclones.