Low-flying
clouds
that usually bring rain in the
monsoon have thinned out and reduced over the years in India, according to a study of 50 years of observations by the Indian Met department.
This means that there will be more number of hotter days, less rainy days and more days with large difference between day and night temperatures. That’s the average for the whole country over all seasons. In the monsoon season, which brings over 70% of rain to India, most of the northern plains stretching from Punjab to
Bihar showed increased low-cloud cover by 4-8% every decade.
But on the Western coast and central India, low-cloud cover is declining by 4-6% per decade, which means less rain and more heat. The
IMD study has worrying implications for India because over half of farming is still dependent on rains.
More or less rain can affect crop yields playing havoc with food security and the economy. More hot days also affects large numbers of people. Low clouds are usually those found up to 6,500 feet. They are very difficult to study and predict but have a great impact on trapping heat as also rain bearing. Changing climate has induced further unpredictability in their behavior.
The study, conducted by A.K. Jaswal, P A Kore and Virendra Singh of the IMD, did not say why this decline in low clouds is taking place, although they speculate that increasing particulate matter, called aerosols, made up of smoke and dust may be one cause.
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