{"id":44264,"date":"2025-05-28T21:16:42","date_gmt":"2025-05-28T15:46:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=44264"},"modified":"2025-05-28T21:16:56","modified_gmt":"2025-05-28T15:46:56","slug":"madden-julian-monsoon-early-onset","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/28-05-2025\/madden-julian-monsoon-early-onset","title":{"rendered":"Madden-Julian Oscillation Helped Trigger the Early Onset of the Monsoon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS1\/ Geography<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The early onset of the southwest monsoon over Kerala this year has caught the attention of meteorologists.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the <strong>Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO)<\/strong> played a significant role in this development.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What is Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The MJO is a moving system of <strong>winds, clouds, and pressure<\/strong> that brings rain as it circles around the equator.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It was discovered in <strong>1971<\/strong> by <strong>Roland Madden and Paul Julian.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The system travels eastward at<strong> 4\u20138 m\/s <\/strong>and circles the globe typically every 30\u201360 days, though it can take up to <strong>90 days.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>As it moves, strong MJO activity often <strong>splits the planet into two parts <\/strong>\u2014 one in which the MJO is in <strong>active phase<\/strong> and brings rainfall, and the other in which it suppresses rainfall.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Geographical Influence<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The effect of the MJO is witnessed mainly in the<strong> tropical region,<\/strong> in the band between <strong>30 degrees North and 30 degrees South<\/strong> of the equator, even though the mid-latitude regions in both hemispheres also feel its impact.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It also includes India, making it a crucial player in the South Asian monsoon system.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>During an active MJO phase, regions within its influence experience above-average rainfall, often due to increased <strong>cloud formation, convection, and cyclonic activity.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"eef0f0\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"610\" height=\"413\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Madden-Julian-Oscillation.png\" alt=\"Madden Julian Oscillation\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-44293\" style=\"--dominant-color: #eef0f0; width:422px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Madden-Julian-Oscillation.png 610w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Madden-Julian-Oscillation-300x203.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 610px) 100vw, 610px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Contribution of MJO to the Early Monsoon<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This year, the MJO was observed in <strong>Phase 4<\/strong> with an <strong>amplitude greater than 1 <\/strong>around May 22, originating in the Indian Ocean.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Phase 4 with strong amplitude is indicative of intense rainfall and storm systems, conducive for monsoon initiation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This setup contributed to frequent cyclonic activity and cloud build-up over the Bay of Bengal, helping trigger the early arrival of the monsoon over Kerala.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Other reasons for Early Monsoon<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Transition to La Ni\u00f1a:<\/strong> In early 2025, global climate models indicated El Ni\u00f1o weakening and possible <strong>La Ni\u00f1a development<\/strong> \u2014 a pattern historically associated with stronger and earlier monsoon seasons in India.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Stronger-than-usual cross-equatorial winds: <\/strong>During May, winds from the southern hemisphere begin to blow across the equator and enter the Arabian Sea.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>When these winds are stronger and more organised, they push moisture-laden air toward the Indian coast more quickly, hastening the monsoon\u2019s arrival.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Above-normal sea surface temperatures:<\/strong>&nbsp; Warmer-than-usual waters in the <strong>Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal<\/strong> fuel intense convection, which helps develop cloud bands and low-pressure systems needed for monsoon formation.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In 2025, sea surface temperatures in the region were higher than average, aiding early cloud development.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Concluding remarks<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>While the early onset of the monsoon offers critical advantages for agriculture and water resource management, it also intensifies climate-related vulnerabilities.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>As monsoon patterns become increasingly erratic under climate change, strengthening early warning systems and forecasting models remains essential for safeguarding lives, livelihoods, and ecosystems.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-climate\/this-word-means-madden-julian-oscillation-10032866\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>IE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The early onset of the southwest monsoon over Kerala this year has caught the attention of meteorologists.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<h3><strong>What is Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO)<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The MJO is a moving system of winds, clouds, and pressure that brings rain as it circles around the equator.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">It was discovered in 1971 by Roland Madden and Paul Julian.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The system travels eastward at 4\u20138 m\/s and circles the globe typically every 30\u201360 days, though it can take up to 90 days.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">As it moves, strong MJO activity often splits the planet into two parts \u2014 one in which the MJO is in active phase and brings rainfall, and the other in which it suppresses rainfall.<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/28-05-2025\/madden-julian-monsoon-early-onset\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read\u00a0More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44264","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44264"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44264\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44304,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44264\/revisions\/44304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}