The first study of its kind led by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology finds that the frequency and intensity of marine heatwaves in the Indian Ocean is going up steadily. In turn, this affects the Indian monsoon, decreasing rainfall over the central parts of the subcontinent while increasing it over the southern parts. ThePrint’s Sandhya Ramesh explains the findings and their implications. 

Supplementary reading: 

JS Saranya et al., 2022: Genesis and Trends in Marine Heatwaves Over the Tropical Indian Ocean and Their Interaction With the Indian Summer Monsoon https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2021JC017427