{"id":2680,"date":"2026-02-12T12:13:22","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T12:13:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/engagement-and-impact\/?p=2680"},"modified":"2026-02-23T12:55:03","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T12:55:03","slug":"desert-winds-bring-drought-to-india-when-the-monsoon-fails","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/engagement-and-impact\/desert-winds-bring-drought-to-india-when-the-monsoon-fails\/","title":{"rendered":"Desert winds bring drought to India when the monsoon fails"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Dry air flowing from deserts<\/span>\u00a0and other arid regions<\/span>\u00a0thousands of miles away causes\u00a0<\/span>hiatuses in monsoon rains in India<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>which often\u00a0<\/span>lead to\u00a0<\/span>water shortages\u00a0<\/span>for <\/span>more than\u00a0a billion people.<\/span><\/p>\n

Scientists from the University of Reading studied 188 monsoon \u2018breaks\u2019 \u2014 periods when the vital summer rains stop falling \u2014 between 1940 and 2023. The research, published this week in the <\/span>Journal of Climate<\/a><\/em>, is the most comprehensive study of its kind.<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0<\/span>monsoon brings more than 75% of India’s yearly rain between June and September. A break happens when these rains\u00a0stop for several days or even\u00a0<\/span>a few\u00a0<\/span>week<\/span>s<\/span>. During\u00a0<\/span>severe\u00a0<\/span>breaks,\u00a0rivers\u00a0can\u00a0shrink, crops\u00a0suffer, and taps\u00a0can\u00a0run dry.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr Akshay\u00a0Deoras, lead author at the University of Reading, said: “Dry air from deserts<\/span>\u00a0and other arid regions<\/span> in central and western Asia\u00a0<\/span>travels thousands of miles before reaching India and switching off the monsoon rains.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen these air masses arrive, crops<\/span>\u00a0can<\/span>\u00a0wither in the\u00a0fields\u00a0and water supplies\u00a0<\/span>can\u00a0<\/span>run low for more than a billion people. By tracking these flows as they build up days before they reach India, we can give farmers and communities precious time to prepare for the dry spell ahead.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Desert to drought<\/span><\/h3>\n

The research team found that dry air from the Middle East and central Asia begins flowing into India around seven days before a break reaches its worst point<\/span>\u00a0in India<\/span>. The<\/span> penetrating\u00a0<\/span>dry\u00a0<\/span>air\u00a0<\/span>overpowers\u00a0<\/span>the moist monsoon winds and stops rain clouds from forming.<\/span><\/p>\n

The scientists tracked where the air came from using computer simulations, following the path of more than 60,000 air parcels backwards in time. The dry air travelled from as far away as the Mediterranean Sea, crossing desert regions and entering India\u00a0mainly through\u00a0gaps between mountain ranges.<\/span><\/p>\n

The study also found that stronger dry air\u00a0<\/span>intrusions\u00a0<\/span>lead to longer breaks. Breaks lasting just three days had relatively weak\u00a0<\/span>dry intrusions as their precursors<\/span>,\u00a0while\u00a0those lasting seven days or more had\u00a0<\/span>dry intrusions\u00a0<\/span>more than twice as strong.<\/span><\/p>\n

Driest August in 123 years<\/span><\/h3>\n

The findings help explain recent water crises. August 2023\u00a0provided\u00a0a clear\u00a0example, when\u00a0India experienced its driest August since 1901. The scientists’ analysis shows that powerful dry air\u00a0<\/span>intrusions\u00a0<\/span>from\u00a0<\/span>arid <\/span>regions\u00a0<\/span>in central and western Asia <\/span>drove these\u00a0<\/span>severe monsoon breaks in the month<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The<\/span> team developed a novel index, which\u00a0<\/span>could help weather forecasters spot\u00a0<\/span>dry air\u00a0<\/span>before\u00a0<\/span>it arrives in India<\/span>. This would give farmers time to\u00a0<\/span>manage agricultural a<\/span>ctivities<\/span>, water managers time to restrict supplies, and communities time to prepare for water shortages days before the\u00a0rains stop.<\/span><\/p>\n

Published: 12 February 2026<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more: <\/strong>The Role of Dry Intrusions in Breaks of the Indian Summer Monsoon<\/a><\/p>\n

Image: Drought conditions in Ladakh, India, via Wikimedia Commons.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Dry air flowing from deserts\u00a0and other arid regions\u00a0thousands of miles away causes\u00a0hiatuses in monsoon rains in India,\u00a0which often\u00a0lead to\u00a0water shortages\u00a0for more than\u00a0a billion people. Scientists from the University of Reading…Read More ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1000,"featured_media":2689,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"__cvm_playback_settings":[],"__cvm_video_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[306,307],"coauthors":[303],"class_list":["post-2680","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorised","tag-india","tag-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDesert winds bring drought to India when the monsoon fails - Engagement and Impact<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dry air flowing from deserts and other arid regions thousands of miles away causes hiatuses in monsoon rains in India, which often lead to water shortages for more than a billion people.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/engagement-and-impact\/desert-winds-bring-drought-to-india-when-the-monsoon-fails\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Desert winds bring drought to India when the monsoon fails - 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