末次盛冰期西太平洋海温差异对亚洲夏季风影响的数值模拟

文章利用Zhao等的模拟结果,进一步研究了在末次盛冰期(LGM)情景下汪品先和CLIMAP两种重建海洋表面温度(SST)资料差异对亚洲夏季风的影响。模拟结果表明:在LGM情景下西太平洋海域SST资料的不同对模拟的亚洲夏季风有着十分重要的作用。夏季,与CLGM方案相比,在WLGM方案中,当热带西太平洋SST较暖时,印度地区的大气热量出现显著增加,大气热量的这种变化,使得南非高压、南印度洋经向Hadley环流加强,伴随着索马里越赤道气流加强,也导致了印度季风区纬向季风环流的加强,从而造成了印度夏季风增强、降水增多;与较暖的热带西太平洋相对应,澳大利亚高压和120°E附近越赤道气流减弱,东亚季风区20°N以南经向季风环流加强、20°N以北经向季风环流减弱,指示着一个强的南海夏季风和较弱东亚副热带大陆夏季风。     

Sea-breeze-initiated rainfall over the east coast of India during the Indian southwest monsoon

Sea-breeze-initiated convection and precipitation have been investigated along the east coast of India during the Indian southwest monsoon season. Sea-breeze circulation was observed on approximately 70–80% of days during the summer months (June–August) along the Chennai coast. Average sea-breeze wind speeds are greater at rural locations than in the urban region of Chennai. Sea-breeze circulation was shown to be the dominant mechanism initiating rainfall during the Indian southwest monsoon season. Approximately 80% of the total rainfall observed during the southwest monsoon over Chennai is directly related to convection initiated by sea-breeze circulation.     

Changing predictability of Indian monsoon rainfall anomalies?

The predictability of Indian summer monsoon rainfall from pre-season circulation indices is explored from observations during 1939–91. The predictand is the all-India average of June–September precipitation NIR, and the precursors examined are the latitude position of the 500 mb ridge along 75°E in April (L), the pressure tendency April minus January at Darwin (DPT), March-April-May temperature at six stations in west central India (T6), the sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly in the northeastern Arabian Sea in May (ASM), SST anomaly in the Arabian Sea in January (ANJ), northern hemisphere temperature anomaly in January–February (NHT), and Eurasian snow cover in January (SNOW). Monsoon rainfall tends to be enhanced with a more northerly ridge position, small Darwin pressure tendency, warmer pre-season conditions, and reduced winter snow cover. However, relationships have varied considerably over the past half-century, with the strongest associations during 1950–80, and a drastic weakening in the 1980s. Four prediction models were constructed based on stepwise multiple regression, using as predictors combinations of L, DPT, T6, ASM, and NHT, with 1939–68 as “dependent” dataset, or training period, and 1969–91 as “independent” dataset or verification period. For the 1969–80 portion of the verification period calculated and observed NIR values agreed closely, with the models explaining 74–79% of the variance. By contrast, after 1980 predictions deteriorated drastically, with the explained variance for the 1969–89 time span dropping to 25–31%. The monsoon rainfall of 1990 and 1991 turned out to be again highly predictable from models based on stepwise multiple regression and linear discriminant analysis and using as input L + DPT or L + DPT + NHT, and with this encouragement an experimental real-time forecast was issued of the 1992 monsoon rainfall. These results underline the need for investigations into decadal-scale changes in the general circulation setting and raise concern for the continued success of seasonal forecasting.     

Changes in summer monsoon precipitation over Hunan Province during 1952–2007: response to the west Pacific sea surface temperature and global warming

Using a historical database (1952–2007) of sea surface temperature (SST) from a subtropical high-controlled area (110°E–140°E, 15°N–35°N) of the west Pacific Ocean and the precipitation over Hunan Province of southeast China, we analyzed time series variations of precipitation in relation to the East Asian summer monsoon and a global warming setting. The results show that there has been a significant increase in SST of the subtropical high-controlled area in the recent 50 years. Although the increase in annual summer monsoon precipitation during the same period has been subtle over Hunan province, seasonal rainfall distribution has obviously changed, represented by a reduction in May, but a significant increase through June to August, especially in July. We suggest that the mechanism of seasonal redistribution of monsoon precipitation is primarily due to the increasing SST that delays the intrusion of the west Pacific Subtropical High, therefore leading to a postponing of migration of the East Asian summer monsoon rainfall belt inland and northward.     

The interannual variability of mid-latitude meridional circulation and its teleconnection with Indian monsoon activity

The statistical relationship between the summer monsoon rainfall over all India, northwest India and peninsular India, onset dates of monsoon and the index of mid latitude, (35° to 70°N) meridional circulation at 500 hPa level over different sectors and hemisphere based on 19 years (1971–1989) data, have been examined. The results indicate that (i) the summer monsoon rainfalls over all India, northwest India and peninsular India show a significant inverse relationship with the strength of meridional index during previous January over sector 45°W to 90°E. (ii) The summer monsoon rainfalls over all India and peninsular India show a significant inverse relationship with the strength of meridional index during previous December over sector 90°E to 160°E, (iii) The summer monsoon rainfall over northwest India shows a significant direct relationship with the meridional index during previous May over sector 160°E to 45°W. Significant negative relationships are also observed between the meridional circulation indices of previous October (sector 3 and 4), previous December (sectors 1, 3 and 4), previous winter season (sector 3 and 4) and the onset dates of summer monsoon over India. The meridional circulation index thus can have some possible use for long range forecasting of monsoon rainfall over all India, northwest India and peninsular India, as well as the onset dates of monsoon.     

Potential predictability of wet/dry spells transitions during extreme monsoon years: optimism for dynamical extended range prediction

The duration and extreme fluctuations of prolonged wet or dry spells associated with intraseasonal variability during extreme monsoon have devastating impacts on agrarian-based economy over Indian subcontinent. This study examines the potential predictability limit of intraseasonal transitions between rainy to non-rainy phases (i.e., active to break phases) or vice versa over central Indian region during extreme monsoon using very high-resolution (0.25° × 0.25°) daily rainfall datasets. The present study reveals that the transitions from both active to break and break to active conditions are more predictable by ~8 days during the weak monsoon (WM) years compared to the strong monsoon (SM) years. Such asymmetric behavior in the limit of predictability could be linked to the distinct differences in the large-scale seasonal mean background instability during SM and WM years. The achievability of such predictability is further evaluated in a state-of-the-art climate model, the climate forecast system (CFSv2). It is demonstrated that the observed asymmetry in predictability limit could be reproducible in the CFSv2 model, irrespective of its spatial resolution. This study provides impetus for useful dynamical prediction of wet/dry spells at extended range during the extreme monsoon years.     

Relationship between northeast monsoon rainfall and near-surface atmospheric wind convergence over the North Indian Ocean using multisatellite data

The northeast monsoon rainfall (NEMR) contributes about 20–40 % of annual rainfall over the North Indian Ocean (NIO). In the present study, the relationship between the NEMR and near-surface atmospheric wind convergence (NSAWC) over the NIO is demonstrated using high-resolution multisatellite data. The rainfall product from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis and near-surface wind product from the Cross-Calibration Multi-Platform available at 0.25° × 0.25° spatial resolution are used for the study. Large-scale NSAWC and divergence maps over the tropical Indian Ocean are generated at monthly scale from the wind product for the period of 1988–2010. A preliminary analysis is carried out for two consecutive anomalous Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) years 2005 (negative) and 2006 (positive). The distinct spatial patterns of rainfall rate and NSAWC fields over the NIO clearly show the evolution of the anomalous IOD events in the south eastern equatorial Indian Ocean (EEIO). The spatially averaged time-series of pentad NSAWC over the south EEIO box suggests that the variability occurs in phase with rainfall rate during both the northeast monsoon years. Furthermore, the scatter plot between area-averaged pentad rainfall and convergence over the south EEIO box for the period of 1998–2010 shows statistically significant linear correlation which reveals that NSAWC plays a key role in regulating the NEMR.     

Dominant impact of South Asian low heat on summer monsoon rainfall over Central India

Although previous literature have considered Southern Oscillation Index (SOI), Indian Dipole, and SST as the major teleconnection patterns to explain the variability of summer monsoon rainfall over India. South Asia low pressure and Indian Ocean high are the centers of action that dominates atmospheric circulations in Indian continent. This paper examines the possible impact of South Asian low pressure distribution on the variability of summer monsoon rainfall of India using centers of action approach. Our analysis demonstrates that the explanation of summer monsoon rainfall variability over Central India is improved significantly if the SOI is replaced by South Asian low heat. This contribution also explains the physical mechanisms to establish the relationships between the South Asian low heat and regional climate by examining composite maps of large-scale circulation fields using NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis data.     

Tropospheric biennial oscillation and south Asian summer monsoon rainfall in a coupled model

In this study Tropospheric Biennial Oscillation (TBO) and south Asian summer monsoon rainfall are examined in the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Climate Forecast System (CFSv2) hindcast. High correlation between the observations and model TBO index suggests that the model is able to capture most of the TBO years. Spatial patterns of rainfall anomalies associated with positive TBO over the south Asian region are better represented in the model as in the observations. However, the model predicted rainfall anomaly patterns associated with negative TBO years are improper and magnitudes are underestimated compared to the observations. It is noted that positive (negative) TBO is associated with La Niña (El Niño) like Sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the model. This leads to the fact that model TBO is El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) driven, while in the observations Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) also plays a role in the negative TBO phase. Detailed analysis suggests that the negative TBO rainfall anomaly pattern in the model is highly influenced by improper teleconnections allied to IOD. Unlike in the observations, rainfall anomalies over the south Asian region are anti-correlated with IOD index in CFSv2. Further, summer monsoon rainfall over south Asian region is highly correlated with IOD western pole than eastern pole in CFSv2 in contrast to the observations. Altogether, the present study highlights the importance of improving Indian Ocean SST teleconnections to south Asian summer rainfall in the model by enhancing the predictability of TBO. This in turn would improve monsoon rainfall prediction skill of the model.     

Unusual circulation pattern during Indian summer monsoon failure in July 2002 and June 2009

The circulation patterns over the Indian Ocean and the surrounding continents have been studied during June 2009 and July 2002 to explain the failure of Indian summer monsoon (ISM) rainfall. This study presents evidences that the failure of the ISM during these 2?months was probably due to the development of cyclonic circulation anomaly over the Western Asia and anticyclonic circulation anomalies downstream of Eastern Asia. These circulation anomalies were associated with the equatorward advection of cold air up to 10°N. This may be due to the equatorward intrusion of midlatitude Rossby waves. We hypothesize that the intrusion of midlatitude Rossby wave is responsible for breaking the east?Cwest circulation cell over the Indian region into two cells and weakening it. The weak east?Cwest cell reduces the strength of the easterly wind field usually present over the monsoonal region, thus reducing the cross-equatorial moisture transport into the Indian subcontinent and decreasing monsoon rainfall.     

Summer monsoon rainfall scenario over Bangladesh using a high-resolution AGCM

Summer monsoon rainfall was simulated by a global 20 km-mesh atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM), focusing on the changes in the summer monsoon rainfall of Bangladesh. Calibration and validation of AGCM were performed over Bangladesh for generating summer monsoon rainfall scenarios. The model-produced summer monsoon rainfall was calibrated with a ground-based observational data in Bangladesh during the period 1979–2003. The TRMM 3B43 V6 data are also used for understanding the model performance. The AGCM output obtained through validation process made it confident to be used for near future and future summer monsoon rainfall projection in Bangladesh. In the present-day (1979–2003) climate simulations, the high-resolution AGCM produces the summer monsoon rainfall better as a spatial distribution over SAARC region in comparison with TRMM but magnitude may be different. Summer monsoon rainfall projection for Bangladesh was experimentally obtained for near future and future during the period 2015–2034 and 2075–2099, respectively. This work reveals that summer monsoon rainfall simulated by a high-resolution AGCM is not directly applicable to application purpose. However, acceptable performance was obtained in estimating summer monsoon rainfall over Bangladesh after calibration and validation. This study predicts that in near future, summer monsoon rainfall on an average may decrease about ?0.5 % during the period 2015–2034 and future summer monsoon rainfall may increase about 0.4 % during the period 2075–2099.     

Interannual variability of summer monsoon rainfall over Myanmar

Observed summer (May–October) rainfall in Myanmar for the period 1981–2010 was used to investigate the interannual variability of summer monsoon rainfall over Myanmar. Empirical orthogonal function, the sequential Mann-Kendall test, power spectrum analysis, and singular value decomposition (SVD) were deployed in the study. Results from spectral analysis showed that the variability of rainfall over Myanmar exhibits a 2- to 6-year cycle. An abrupt change in rainfall over the country was noted in 1992. There was a notable increasing rainfall trend from 1989. After the sudden change, the mean rainfall increased by 36.1 mm, compared with the mean rainfall before the sudden change, and was associated with a rise in temperature of about 0.2 °C. An increase in heavy rainfall days was observed from the early 1990s to 2010. IOD and ENSO play an important role in the interannual variability of the summer rainfall over Myanmar. The covariability between rainfall over Myanmar and Indian Ocean SST generally suggests that a positive IOD mode is associated with suppressed rainfall in the central and northern parts of Myanmar. During a negative IOD mode, nearly the whole Myanmar experiences enhanced rainfall, which is associated with devastating socioeconomic impacts. The covariability between the rainfall over Myanmar and the sea surface temperature in the Pacific Ocean in the first and second SVD modes was dominated by warming in the east and central Pacific—an El Niño-like pattern—resulting in dry conditions in central Myanmar.     

Analysis of Rainfall Over Different Homogeneous Regions of India in Relation to Variability in Westward Movement Frequency of Monsoon Depressions

Between 1941 and 2002 there has been a decreasing trend in the frequency of monsoon disturbances (MDs) during the summer monsoon season (June–September). This downwards trend is significant at the 99.9% level for the main monsoon phase (July–August) and the withdrawal phase (September); however, it is not significant during the onset phase (June). The variability in rainfall over the homogeneous regions of India on the sub-seasonal scale also shows a significant decreasing trend with respect to the amount of rainfall over Northwest India (NWI) and Central India (CEI) during all three phases of the monsoon. Meteorological observations reveal that there has been an eastward shift of the rainfall belt with time over the Indian region on the seasonal scale and that this shift is more prominent during the withdrawal phase. This decreasing trend in MDs together with its restricted westerly movement seem to be directly related to the decreasing trend in rainfall over CEI during both the main monsoon and withdrawal phases and over NWI during the withdrawal phase. The low-level circulation anomalies observed during two periods (period-I: 1951–1976; period-ii: 1977–2002) are in accordance with the changes in rainfall distribution, with comparatively more (less) rainfall falling over NWI, CEI and Southern Peninsular India (SPI) during period-I (period-ii), and are accompanied by a stronger (weaker) monsoon circulation embedded with an anomalous cyclonic (anti-cyclonic) circulation over CEI during the main monsoon and withdrawal phases. During the onset phase, completely opposite circulation anomalies are observed during both periods, and these are associated with more (less) rainfall over NWI, CEI and SPI during period-ii (period-I).     

Rainfall over Oman and its teleconnection with El Niño Southern Oscillation

The Sultanate of Oman is located in the south-eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula and covers the larger part of the southern coasts of the Arabian Peninsula in both arid and semi-arid environments except for the southern part which is swept by the monsoon affecting the Arabian Sea during the period from June to September. The summer rainfall over Oman shows year-to-year variability, and this is caused by oceanic and atmospheric influences. In the present study, we tried to explore the influence of El Niño on the rainfall over Oman using different data sets. The empirical orthogonal function (EOF) technique employed to the zonal wind at 850 hPa for the 30-year period shows that the second and third modes of EOF are showing high variability over the Oman regions. The corresponding PCs were subjected to FFT analysis, and it showed a peak about 5–6 years. In addition to this, the zonal wind over the Oman regions is correlated with the global zonal wind and found a significant correlation (1 % significant level). It has already been proved that the wind and rainfall during summer monsoon is in phase. Moreover, the spectral analysis of rainfall at Masirah station and the Niño3.4 index show the similar mode of variability indicating a direct relationship. The correlation between rainfall and the Niño3.4 index is also showing a positive significant value, and therefore, it can be concluded that the El Niño in the Pacific favours rainfall over the Oman region.     

The Indian summer monsoon as revealed by the NCMRWF system

In this study, we present the mean seasonal features of the Indian summer monsoon circulation in the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF) global data assimilation and forecast system. The large-scale budgets of heat and moisture are examined in the analyzed and model atmosphere. The daily operational analyses and forecasts (day 1 through day 5) produced for the summer seasons comprising June, July and August of 1995 and 1993 have been considered for the purpose. The principal aim of the study is two-fold. Primarily, to comprehend the influence of the systematic errors over the Indian summer monsoon, secondarily, to analyze the performance of the model in capturing the interseasonal variability. The heat and moisture balances show reduction in the influx of heat and moisture in the model forecasts compared to the analyzed atmosphere over the monsoon domain. Consequently, the diabatic heating also indicates reducing trend with increase in the forecast period. In effect, the strength of Indian summer monsoon, which essentially depends on these parameters, weakens considerably in the model forecasts. Despite producing feeble monsoon circulation, the model captures interseasonal variability realistically. Although, 1995 and 1993 are fairly normal monsoon seasons, the former received more rainfall compared to the latter in certain pockets of the monsoon domain. This is clearly indicated by the analyzed and model atmosphere in terms of energetics.     

一个耦合气候系统模式模拟的中全新世时期亚洲季风系统变化

本文分析了一个耦合模式FGOALS_g1.0对工业革命前气候(0ka)和中全新世时期(6ka)亚洲夏季风的模拟结果。在该研究中我们主要分析季风降水变率较大的区域,即东亚夏季风区(20°～45°N,110°～120°E)和印度夏季风区(10°～30°N,70°～80°E)。尽管耦合模式的普遍偏差依然存在,该模式反映出亚洲季风系统是海陆热力性质差异的结果,并较好地模拟出了0ka亚洲夏季风大尺度环流的特点和季节变化的特征。6ka和0ka比较分析的结果表明,6ka时期欧亚大陆增暖,海陆温度梯度加强; 印度夏季风降水从南亚大陆北移到 30°N 附近,位于青藏高原南侧的降水大值中心降水加强; 东亚季风区降水则表现为华北地区减少,长江流域和华南地区降水增加的特点。但合理地模拟季风爆发仍然是耦合气候系统模式的难点之一。
6ka时期亚洲夏季风变化是和大尺度季风环流的变化联系在一起的,而其根本原因是中全新世时期地球轨道参数变化所引起的太阳辐射变化,北半球季节循环的振幅加强。海陆热力性质的差异所导致海陆温差加大使得北半球的季风环流加强,印度夏季风高空东风在 20°～30°N 加强,低层赤道东风加强,跨赤道后的西南气流向北推移,从而使得印度夏季风降水雨带北移到 30°N 附近。东亚季风区的高低空温度场的配置使得副热带高空急流减弱,位置偏南,从而有利于华北地区的高空出现异常的辐合,中层为异常的辐散,抑制了季风降水的发展; 长江流域和华南地区则相反,季风降水降水加强。     

Large-scale interannual variation of the summer monsoon over India and its empirical prediction

Large-scale interannual variability of the northern summer southwest monsoon over India is studied by examining its variation in the dry area during the period 1871–1984. On the mean summer monsoon rainfall (June to September total) chart the 800 mm isohyet divides the country into two nearly equal halves, named as dry area (monsoon rainfall less than 800 mm) and wet area (monsoon rainfall greater than 800 mm). The dry area/wet area shows large variations from one year to another, and is considered as an index for assessing the large-scale performance of the Indian summer monsoon. Statistical and fluctuation characteristics of the summer monsoon dry area (SMDA) are reported. To identify possible causes of variation in the Indian summer monsoon, the correlation between the summer monsoon dry area and eleven regional/global circulation parameters is examined. The northern hemisphere surface air temperature, zonal/hemispheric/global surface air and upper air temperatures, Southern Oscillation, Quasi-biennial oscillation of the equatorial lower stratosphere, April 500-mb ridge along 75°E over India, the Indian surface air temperature and the Bombay sea level pressure showed significant correlation. A new predictor parameter that is preceding year mean monsoon rainfall of a few selected stations over India has been suggested in the present study. The stations have been selected by applying the objective technique ‘selecting a subset of few gauges whose mean monsoon rainfall of the preceding year has shown the highest correlation coefficient (CC) with the SMDA’. Bankura (Gangetic West Bengal), Cuddalore (Tamil Nadu) and Anupgarh (West Rajasthan) entered the selection showing a CC of 0.724. Using a dependent sample of 1951–1980 a predictive model (multiple CC = 0.745) has also been developed for the SMDA with preceding year mean monsoon rainfall of the three selected stations and the sea level pressure tendency at Darwin from Jan–Feb to Mar–May as independent parameters.     

Global temperature and monsoon activity

In this paper an attempt has been made to search a new parameter for the prediction of the Indian summer monsoon rainfall. For this purpose the relationship of the global surface-air temperature of four standard seasons viz., Winter (December-January-February), Spring (March-April-May), Summer (June-July-August), Autumn (September-October-November) with the Indian summer monsoon rainfall has been carried out. The same analysis is also carried out with surface-air temperature anomalies within the tropical belt (30°S to 30°N) and Indian summer monsoon rainfall. For the present study data for 30 years period from 1958 to 1988 have been used. The analysis reveals that there is a strong inverse relationship between the monsoon activity and the tropical belt temperature.     

Inter-annual variability of summer monsoon rainfall over Orissa (India) in relation to cyclonic disturbances

The summer monsoon rainfall over Orissa, a state on the eastern coast of India, is more significantly related than Indian summer monsoon rainfall (ISMR) to the cyclonic disturbances developing over the Bay of Bengal. Orissa experiences floods and droughts very often due to variation in the characteristics of these disturbances. Hence, an attempt was made to find out the inter-annual variability in the rainfall over Orissa and the frequencies of different categories of cyclonic disturbances affecting Orissa during monsoon season (June–September). For this purpose, different statistical characteristics, such as mean, coefficient of variation, trends and periodicities in the rainfall and the frequencies of different categories of cyclonic disturbances affecting Orissa, were analysed from 100 years (1901–2000) of data. The basic objective of the study was to find out the contribution of inter-annual variability in the frequency of cyclonic disturbances to the inter-annual variability of monsoon rainfall over Orissa. The relationship between summer monsoon rainfall over Orissa and the frequency of cyclonic disturbances affecting Orissa shows temporal variation. The correlation between them has significantly decreased since the 1950s. The variation in their relationship is mainly due to the variation in the frequency of cyclonic disturbances affecting Orissa. The variability of both rainfall and total cyclonic disturbances has been above normal since the 1960s, leading to more floods and droughts over Orissa during recent years. The inter-annual variability of seasonal rainfall over Orissa and the frequency of cyclonic disturbances affecting Orissa during monsoon season show a quasi-biennial oscillation period of 2–2.8 years. There is least impact of El Nino southern oscillation (ENSO) on inter-annual variability of both the seasonal rainfall over Orissa and the frequencies of monsoon depressions/total cyclonic disturbances affecting Orissa.     

Homogeneous Indian Monsoon rainfall: Variability and prediction

The Indian summer monsoon rainfall is known to have considerable spatial variability, which imposes some limitations on the all-India mean widely used at present. To prepare a spatially coherent monsoon rainfall series for the largest possible area, fourteen subdivisions covering the northwestern and central parts of India (about 55% of the total area of the country), having similar rainfall characteristics and associations with regional/global circulation parameters are merged and their area-weighted means computed, to form monthly and seasonal Homogeneous Indian Monsoon (HIM) rainfall series for the period 1871–1990. This paper includes a listing of monthly and seasonal rainfall of HIM region. HIM rainfall series has been statistically analysed to understand its characteristics, variability and teleconnections for long-range prediction. HIM rainfall series isfound to be homogeneous, Gaussian distributed and free from persistence. The mean (R) rainfall is 757 mm (87% of annual) and standard deviation (S) 119 mm, with a Coefficient of Variation (CV) of 16%. There were 21 dry (K, -<R S) and 19 wet (R _i R + S) years during 1871–1990. There were clusters of frequent negative departures during 1899–1920 and 1965–1987 and positive departures during 1942–1961. The recent three decades show very high rainfall variability with 10 dry and 6 wet years. The decadal averages were alternatively positive and negative for three consecutive decades, viz., 1871–1900 (positive); 1901–1930 (negative); 1931–1960 (positive) and 1961–1990 (negative) respectively. Significant QBO and autocorrelation at 14th lag have been found in HIM rainfall series. To delineate the changes in the climatic regime of the Indian summer monsoon, sliding correlation coefficients (CCs) between HIM rainfall series and (i) Bombay msl pressure, (ii) Darwin msl pressure and (iii) Northern Hemisphere surface air temperature over the period 1871–1990 have been examined. The 31-year sliding CCs showed the systematic turning points of positive and negative CCs around the years, 1900 and 1940. In the light of other corroborative evidences, these turning points seem to delineate ‘meridional’ monsoon regime during 1871–1900 and 1940–1990 and ‘zonal’ monsoon regime during 1901–1940. The monsoon signal is particularly dominant in many regional and global circulation parameters, during 1951–1990. Using the teleconnections ofHIM series with 12 regional/global circulation parameters during the recent 36-year period 1951–86 regression models have been developed for long-range prediction. In the regression equations 3 to 4 parameters were entered, explaining upto 80% of the variance, depending upon the data period. The parameters that prominently enter the multiple regression equations are (i) Bombay msl pressure, (ii) April 500 mb Ridge at 75°E, (iii) NH temperature, (iv) Nouvelle minus Agalega msl pressure and (v) South American msl pressure. Eleven circulation parameters for the period 1951–80 were subjected to Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and the PC’s were used in the regression model to estimate HIM rainfall. The multiple regression with three PCs explain 72% of variance in HIM rainfall.