Himalayan snowfall linked to dry spell: Study

London: Reading University, one of the UK’s leading research centres, claims to have solved a riddle that has per plexed scientists since the 19th centu ry. An intensive study carried out by it has reached the conclusion that heavy snowfall over the Himalayas in winter and spring can be the direct cause of drought in India, especially in the ear ly part of the summer monsoon.
    Given that last winter was quite severe and mammoth quantities of snow may have fallen on the Hi malayan range, all concerned in the Indian agrarian sector need to be vig ilant about a delayed monsoon and plan accordingly. This is what the re port appears to suggest. Dr Andy Turner, lead author of the research at Walker Institute of the university said: “Our work shows how, in the ab sence of a strong influence from the tropical Pacific, snow conditions over the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau could be used to help forecast seasonal monsoon rainfall for India particularly over northern India dur ing the onset month of June.’’
    These findings are highly signifi cant because Indian agriculture heavily dependent on early rainfall; lack of this in the crucial growing sea son tends to have a devastating impact on crops, as was experienced last year The work is a part of Reading’s Cli mate Programme of the National Cen tre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS)
    Scientists have known since the 1880s that increased snow over the Hi malayas can be linked with weaker summer monsoon rains in India. How ever, according to Reading, the mech anisms explaining this correlation have never been properly understood The latest research shows that greater snowfall reflects more sunlight and produces a cooling over the Hi malayas. This, in turn, means a weak ening of the monsoon winds that bring rain to India.