The Hindu Business Line : Monsoon in `break' phase in North

THE South-West monsoon has reached a `break' phase in Central and North-West India where rainfall had become sparse. But the situation is expected to get better within 2-3 days and lead to what would be a `normal' monsoon season.

Speaking to Business Line, Dr M. Rajeevan, Director, Forecasting, India Meteorological Department (IMD), Pune, said that during the `break' phase, rainfall activity is confined to the North-East and the foothills of the Himalayas.

This is because the monsoon trough (a zone of rainfall activity) shifts to the North. The trend of precipitation becomes subdued over Central and North-West India. The `break' is normally declared after the monsoon has covered the entire country. It was for the same reason that last week's lull in the monsoon season was not classified as one.

But, in its official weather forecast, the IMD had stated that the current monsoon had covered the whole country.

In meteorologists' parlance, break-monsoon is the interruption in monsoon rainfall by spells of sparse rainfall during the mid-monsoon months of July and August over the plains of Northern India.

When a tropical low-pressure system moves from the plains in a northerly direction toward the submontane region of the Himalayas, the monsoon trough of low pressure also moves from the plains to that region.

This deprives the plains of Northern India of significant ascending motion and normal rainfall and brings about the break-monsoon.