One-fourth of India’s monsoon rain evaporates mid-air, says new study
A study from the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology reveals that nearly 25% of monsoon rain over the Western Ghats evaporates before reaching the ground. This finding is expected to improve the accuracy of climate models and weather forecasting across India.
Why it matters
Understanding raindrop evaporation is crucial for refining climate models, which directly impacts agricultural planning and disaster preparedness in monsoon-dependent regions.
Nearly a quarter of the rain that falls over the north Western Ghats during the Southwest monsoon evaporates mid-air, says a study out of the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune.
This is the first time this fraction has been measured via an experiment in India. This will help scientists refine weather and climate models and better understand the monsoon, an accompanying press statement noted.
Researchers at the IIITM, Pune, computed that on average, about 25% of the rain mass evaporates; the actual amount varies from day to day and range from 4%-61%, over the four monsoon months of June to September.
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