Monsoons: winds, rains, currents. Monsoon region, humid and variably humid monsoon forests

For a long time, man has been observing nature. Often sailors noticed steady winds blowing towards the continents. Monsoon is the very wind that changes direction twice a year. In summer, it is directed from the ocean to the mainland. It brings with it torrential rains and abundant moisture. This is truly a life-giving force that does not allow all living varieties of land to die.

By the onset of winter, the summer monsoon gradually changes its direction, rebuilding in the opposite direction. Now from the land air streams rush to the sea. This climate is often described as monsoon. It can be observed in the world, in the Far East and coastal regions, in South Asia, Australia, equatorial Africa, Brazil and the Middle East. The winter period in these areas is characterized by poor rainfall, drought and extremely rare rainfall. The most favorable periods for life in areas with a monsoon climate are spring and autumn. The spring monsoon is the movement of air, which in the off-season gives a comfortable temperature and humidity. This period is unusually picturesque. One has only to look at the monsoon (pictures below) in order to feel the full beauty of a natural phenomenon.

Monsoons are caused by the formation of zones of high and low pressure. If we take into account that in the equatorial regions there are zones of low pressure, and in the subequatorial regions - high, then the monsoon is a constant movement of cyclones. In addition, the formation of the monsoon wind is influenced by the difference in temperature in summer and winter, as, for example, in India. In summer, hot air moves inland. And in winter, stronger winds blow from the continent towards the ocean.

But the monsoon is not always a long-awaited joy. After all, it is known that strong winds bring disasters to entire countries. Often, the population of the continents suffers from floods and destructive downpours. Residents of Vietnam, Korea, Thailand often find themselves hostages of the raging elements in the summer. And in winter, a severe drought can turn into fires, outbreaks of epidemics. First of all, African countries suffer from these "charms". The local population is waiting for the onset of the summer monsoon season, since life on this continent depends entirely on them.

After all, whole rivers dry up in winter, leaving behind dried up channels. With the arrival of the rainy season, they fill up, and life returns to these places.

This phenomenon is practically not observed in European countries. On a vast land area, cyclones and anticyclones replace each other without staying in one place for a long time. Monsoons are characteristic of coastal areas and are completely atypical in Europe. But in the Far East, you can see their influence on the climate. Maximum precipitation falls here from June to September. Hence, it turns out that in summer it is rainy, but warm weather, and in winter it is rather dry, windy and very cold. Moreover, in the driest winter month, precipitation is 5 times less than in the wettest summer. This imbalance is characteristic of the monsoon climate.

Husband. intermittent, urgently constant wind in the eastern seas, blowing for six months in one and the opposite direction; sowing. east monsoon, dry, from 15 April to 15 October; southwest monsoon, wet, the rest of the semester. Monsoon strip, where the monsoon ... ... Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary

monsoon- a, m. mousson m., it. monsone, eng. monsoon arab. The wind periodically changes its predominant direction: in winter it blows from land to sea, and in summer from sea to land. BAS 1. Trade winds, passad winds Mouzons and monsoons. 1788. Kush. SMS. Monson ... ... Historical Dictionary of Russian Gallicisms

MONSOON- French. mousson, p. monzao, isp. monzon, malay. musim, East Ind. mausim, mausam, from ar. mausim, definite tense, from wasama, to define. Periodic winds in the Indian Ocean. An explanation of the 25,000 foreign words that came into use in ... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

MONSOON- MUSSON, monsoon, husband. (from Arabic mausin season) (geogr.). A wind that periodically changes its direction depending on the season and blows from land to sea in winter, and from sea to land in summer. Ushakov's explanatory dictionary. D.N. Ushakov. 1935 1940 ... Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

MONSOON- MUSSON, ah, husband. A steady seasonal wind blowing from land to sea in winter and from sea to land in summer. Tropical monsoons. | adj. monsoon, oh, oh. Monsoon showers. Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 ... Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

monsoon- noun, number of synonyms: 2 wind (262) harmatan (2) ASIS synonym dictionary. V.N. Trishin. 2013 ... Synonym dictionary

monsoon- Winds blowing with a certain regularity in different seasons of the year due to seasonal changes in pressure over the mainland and the adjacent ocean. → Fig. 213, p. 468 ... Geography Dictionary

Monsoon (CA)- Spacecraft Geo IK This term has other meanings, see Monsoon (disambiguation). Monsoon (Geo IK, GRAU index: 11F666) is a series of devices that are the main element of the space geophysical complex. The complex provided ... ... Wikipedia

MONSOON- (from Arab, mausim season) large-scale air flow with a corresponding complex of weather. Seasonal wind that occurs at the border of the sea and the continent as a result of their unequal heating and changes its direction twice a year to ... ... Glossary of winds

Monsoon- (monsoon) Monsoon, wind south. and other parts of Asia, especially on the coast of the Indian Ocean, blowing from the southwest in summer (wet monsoon = wet monsoon) and from northeast in winter (dry monsoon = dry monsoon). The concept of M. is also used to define a strong ... ... Countries of the world. Dictionary

Books

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• Monsoon The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Politics, Kaplan R. As the United States strengthened and entered the world arena, Europe and East Asia were the initial projection of its interests. During the 20th century, the United States fought wars, hot and cold, to prevent ...

Monsoon is often associated with heavy rainfall, hurricane or typhoon. This is not entirely true: the monsoon is not just a storm, it is rather a seasonal movement of the wind over an area. As a result, there can be heavy summer rains and droughts at other times of the year.

What Causes Monsoons?

Monsoon (from the Arabic mawsim, meaning "season") arises from the temperature difference between land and ocean, the National Meteorological Service explains. The sun warms the earth and water differently, and the air begins to tug-of-war, and the colder, wetter air from the ocean wins. At the end of the monsoon period, the winds are reversed.

Wet and dry monsoons

Wet monsoons usually come in the summer months (April to September) bringing heavy rainfall. On average, about 75% of the annual rainfall in India and about 50% in the North American region (according to NOAA research) falls during the summer monsoon season. As mentioned above, wet monsoons bring ocean winds to land.

Dry monsoons occur in October-April. Dry air masses come to India from Mongolia and northwest China. They are more powerful than their summer counterparts. Edward Guinan, professor of astronomy and meteorology, argues that the winter monsoon begins when "the earth cools faster than water and high pressure builds up over land, displacing ocean air." Drought sets in.

Wind and rain

Each year the monsoons behave differently, bringing light or heavy rains, as well as winds of varying speed. The Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology has compiled data showing the annual monsoons in India over the past 145 years. The intensity of the monsoons, it turns out, varies over the course of 30-40 years. Long-term observations show that there are periods with light rains, one of these began in 1970, and there are heavy ones. Current records for 2016 showed rainfall at 97.3% of the seasonal normal from June 1 to September 30.

The heaviest rainfall occurred in Cherrapunji, Meghalaya state in India, between 1860 and 1861, when the region received 26,470 mm of rainfall. The zone with the highest average annual amount (observations were carried out for 10 years) is also in the state of Meghalaya, where an average of 11,872 mm of precipitation fell.

Where monsoons are observed

The places where monsoons occur are the tropics (from 0 to 23.5 degrees north and south latitude) and the subtropics (between 23.5 and 35 degrees north and south latitude). The strongest monsoons are observed, as a rule, in India and South Asia, Australia and Malaysia. Monsoons are found in southern regions of North America, Central America, northern regions of South America, and West Africa.

Influence of monsoons

Monsoons play a decisive role in many areas of the world. The agriculture of countries like India is heavily dependent on the rainy season. According to National Geographic, the hydropower plants are also scheduled to operate depending on the monsoon season.

During periods when the world monsoons are limited by light rainfall, crops do not receive enough moisture and farm incomes decline. The generation of electricity, which is only enough for the needs of large enterprises, is decreasing, electricity rises in price and becomes inaccessible to poor families. Imports from other countries are increasing due to the lack of their own food.

During the period of heavy rains, floods are possible, causing damage not only to crops, but also to people and animals. Excessive rain contributes to the spread of infections: cholera, malaria, and stomach and eye diseases. Many of these infections are spread by water, and congested water structures cannot cope with the task of treating water for drinking and household needs.

The North American monsoon system is also responsible for the start of the fire season in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, according to the NOAA report, due to an increase in the number of lightning strikes caused by changes in pressure and temperature. In some regions, tens of thousands of lightning strikes are observed overnight, causing fires, energy failures and serious injuries to people.

Monsoons and global warming

A group of scientists from Malaysia warns that due to global warming, it is necessary to wait for an increase in precipitation during the summer monsoons in the next 50-100 years. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide help trap even more moisture in the air, which rains down on already flooded areas. During dry monsoons, the land will dry out more due to the increase in air temperature.

On a small time scale, the amount of precipitation during the summer monsoons can vary due to air pollution. El Niño (fluctuating temperatures on the surface of the Pacific Ocean) also affects the Indian monsoons in both the short and long term, say researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Many factors can influence monsoons. Scientists are doing everything they can to predict future rains and winds - the more we know about the behavior of the monsoon, the sooner the preparatory work will begin.

When roughly half of India's population is engaged in agricultural work, and agronomy accounts for roughly 18% of India's GDP, rescheduling the monsoon and precipitation can be very difficult. But, research conducted by scientists can translate this problem into a solution.

Who among us in childhood has not read adventure books about distant wanderings, noble sailors and fearless pirates?


Saying the words "monsoon" and "trade wind", we recall these very romantic pictures: distant tropical seas, uninhabited islands covered with lush greenery, the sound of swords and white sails on the horizon.

Meanwhile, everything is much more prosaic: monsoons and trade winds are well-known names that have a significant impact on the formation of weather not only in tropical regions, but throughout the planet.

Monsoons

Monsoons are winds with a steady direction, characteristic of the tropical belt and some coastal countries of the Far East. In summer, monsoons blow from the ocean towards the land, in winter - in the opposite direction. They form a peculiar type of climate called monsoon, a characteristic feature of which is a high level of air humidity in summer.

One should not think that there are no other winds in areas dominated by the monsoon. But winds from other directions appear from time to time and blow for short periods, while the monsoon is the predominant wind, especially during winter and summer. Autumn-spring periods are transitional, at which time the stable wind regime is violated.

The origin of the monsoons

The appearance of monsoons is entirely related to the annual cycles of atmospheric pressure distribution. In summer, land heats up more than the ocean, this heat is transferred to the lower atmospheric layer. The heated air rushes upward, and a zone of reduced atmospheric pressure forms over the land.

The resulting lack of air is immediately filled with a colder air mass located above the ocean surface. It contains a large amount of moisture evaporated from the water table.

Moving in the direction of land, air from the sea transports this moisture and spills onto the surface of coastal areas. Therefore, the monsoon climate is more humid in summer than in winter.

With the onset of the winter period, the winds change their direction, since at this time the land surface warms up less actively, and the air above it turns out to be colder than above the sea surface, which explains the change in the direction of the monsoon at this time.

Monsoon geography

The monsoon climate is most typical for the equatorial regions of Africa, the northern coast of Madagascar, many states of Southeast and South Asia, as well as the equatorial part of the Southern Hemisphere, including the northern coast of Australia.

The influence of monsoons is experienced by the states of the Caribbean, the southern Mediterranean and some other regions, but in a weaker form.

Trade winds

Tradewinds are called winds that blow steadily in the tropical zone all year round due to the inertial force of the Earth's rotation and the climatic features of the tropics.


In the Northern Hemisphere, trade winds blow from the northeast, and in the South, from the southeast. The trade winds are most stable above the sea surface, while the land relief introduces certain changes in their direction.

The name "trade wind" comes from the Spanish expression "viento de pasada" - the wind that favors movement. In the era of the great geographical discoveries, when Spain was the queen of the seas, the trade winds served as the main factor favorable to the movement of sailing ships between the European mainland and the New World.

How are trade winds formed?

The equatorial zone of our planet is experiencing the strongest heating by the sun's rays, so the air in the lower atmosphere always has a fairly high temperature. Because of this, there is a stable updraft in areas close to the equator.

In place of the rising air, colder air masses immediately rush from both subtropical belts - northern and southern. Thanks to the Coriolis force - the inertial force of the Earth's rotation - these air currents do not move strictly in the southern and northern directions, but deviate, acquiring a southeasterly and northeasterly direction.


The cold air that rises upwards cools down and descends, but due to the outflow of air in the northern and southern temperate zones, it rushes there and also experiences the effect of the Coriolis force. These winds blowing in the upper atmosphere are called upper trade winds, or counter-passages.

Geography of the trade winds

The trade winds are the prevailing winds along the entire equatorial belt, except for the coastal zone of the Indian Ocean, where, due to the geographical features of the coastline, they turn into monsoons.

The word "monsoon" comes from the Arabic word "māvsim", which translates as "season". Monsoons are called steady winds, which sharply change their direction in connection with the change of season twice a year. In summer, monsoons blow from the ocean, and in winter, on the contrary, from land.

Below are the characteristics and locations of the monsoon phenomenon.

Where and why the monsoon blows

Monsoon is typical for tropical regions and coastal countries, which are characterized by dry winters and high humidity in the summer. The most common monsoons in the Indian Ocean basin, they are mainly caused by uneven heating of land and water, that is, due to temperature differences. Also, the reason for the formation of the monsoon is the seasonal interaction of areas of low and high atmospheric pressure.

Monsoon characteristics

The monsoon causes a sharp change in the weather, in autumn and spring the wind becomes less stable. Blowing from the sea, the monsoon brings rain, at this time the rivers can overflow their banks. By the way, the main difference between the Indian climate and the Russian climate is the presence of a monsoon wind that comes from the Indian Ocean. The downpour can go on for 2-3 hours, and then it stops abruptly - the clouds will disperse, and a bright sun will appear in the sky again.

In the tropics, monsoons blow at a speed of 2-4 km per hour in winter and 5-7 km per hour in summer.