10 Countries besides India that experience the monsoon season

India, due to its combination of unique geographical and climatic factors, experiences monsoon season. Monsoon is marked by seasonal rainfall which is extremely important for agriculture in the country. While monsoon and India seem to be synonymous there are other countries as well which experience this climatic phenomenon. Have a look!

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Bangladesh also has monsoon season that occurs in the month of June to September and the rainfall is heavy, beneficial to agriculture but usually results in frequent flooding, landslides and river erosions. It plays a critical part in rice cultivation and pisciculture.

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The monsoon season in Pakistan occurs in late June to September and it effects the eastern and the central part of Pakistan. But, there the rainfall is so erratic that excess and inadequate monsoons can cause disasters of flood and drought respectively that affect the lives of the people. The basin of the Indus River which sustains a large percentage of the population of the country is particularly dependent on the onset and the sufficiency of the monsoon.

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Sri Lanka has mainly two monsoon seasons i.e. the Southwest Monsoon that ranges from April/May to September and the Northwest monsoon that ranges from November to March. The monsoons bring very high amount of rainfall to different parts of the island at different times, supporting lush vegetation and agriculture, particularly rice and tea.

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Myanmar’s monsoon season generally starts from late May to October, in which the southwest monsoon brings heavy rains, especially to the coastal and delta regions. In terms of agriculture, monsoon is important, but here also high amount of rainfall often leads to flooding and landslides. In Myanmar, dry zone in central region receives less rainfall while the southern and western coastal areas experiences some of the highest amount of the highest rainfalls in Southeast Asia.

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Thailand monsoon season stretches between the month of mid-May to late November and it occurs due to the southwest monsoon winds. These rains cause most rainfall in the north and the eastern coast and favors the growth of rice and also provides water to the water reservoirs. There is also a dry season whereby the northeast monsoon dominates the country. The monsoon floods are normal especially in low lying and riverine regions.

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Vietnam is affected by both south west monsoon and northeast monsoon with the primary rainy period taking place between May and September. The monsoons are associated with high amounts of rain mostly in the northern and central areas that are essential in rice and other agricultural crops. The country has a long coast and vast mountains, which results in substantial regional variation in precipitation, and the type of flooding and destructiveness of typhoons can be extreme during monsoon.

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Malaysia has two monsoon seasons, one is the Southwest monsoon and the other one is the Northeast monsoon which generally occurs between May to September and November to March respectively. The northeast monsoon is associated with heavy rainfalls on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo and this season is marked by floods. The tropical rain forest nature of the weather implies that the country is under constant rainfall throughout the year, though the most intense one is during the monsoon seasons, which is important in agriculture and its water resources.

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The monsoon season experienced in Indonesia normally occurs between October and March and this happens with the changes in wind patterns. The rains are essential in agriculture especially rice farming and in maintaining the country’s vast rain forests. The monsoons are also timed and their strength may vary through the archipelago with some islands experiencing considerably more rain than others. During the wet season common hazards include flooding and landslides.

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In the Philippines, the southwest monsoon (Habagat) is experienced during the months of May to October characterized by heavy rains and most of the time by typhoons. Monsoon plays a very vital role in water resources and crop production due to the heavy rainfall but it is the major cause of wide scale floods and landslides especially in the urban and mountainous regions. The fact that the country is located in the western pacific exposes it to the risk of the tropical cyclones that are worse during the monsoons.

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In West Africa, Nigeria has its monsoon season between April and October with the heaviest rainfall in the south and a shorter less wet season further north. Monsoon is very important for agriculture and also refreshes the water reservoirs, but at the same time the excessive rains contribute to flooding especially in river basins. Monsoon rain has a great influence on food security and livelihoods in the country in terms of timing and quantity.

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