2003 Articles

Modulation of Sri Lankan Maha rainfall by the Indian Ocean Dipole

Zubair, Lareef M.; Rao, Suryachandra A.; Yamagata, Toshio

Investigating the September to December rainy season in Sri Lanka associated with the Maha rice growing season provides insights into the Asian monsoon during the boreal fall. Here, the modulation of the Maha rainfall by the tropical air-sea coupled phenomenon referred to as the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) is documented. The Maha rainfall has a strong and robust association with the IOD from 1869 to 2000. The anomalously warm sea surface in the western Indian Ocean associated with the positive IOD phase induces large scale convergence in the lower troposphere extending to Sri Lanka leading to the preponderant enhancement of Maha rainfall.