What is 'Monsoon'?

Answer 1

Monsoons are seasonal winds that bring moist air from oceans and seas over land. The winds are in the reverse direction of flow from the non-monsoon season, and can generate copious precipitation as well as changes in the surface currents in the sea.

While farming depends upon monsoons for rainfall, disastrous flooding can often occur during monsoons.

A monsoon that blows from the southwest between May and September brings rain and is referred as a wet monsoon. A monsoon that blows between October and April and brings no rain is referred to as a dry monsoon.

A monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea.

Typically, it is a wind particular to southern Asia that causes the rainy season. At times the rain involved is continuous for long periods of time and can be very heavy.

Monsoons can bring strong winds, including a lot of rain at times, which can last for months. The Indian subcontinent gets about 80 percent of its annual rainfall from monsoons.