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Monsoon

Last updated: February 12, 2017

What Does Monsoon Mean?

A monsoon is the seasonal change of wind direction usually in the summer, when wind starts blowing from the sea due to the unequal heating of land and sea.This atmospheric change causes mass clouds produced by moist air from the sea and is associated with rain and bad weather. The monsoon in the Indian Ocean region is the strongest and most easily recognizable. Other monsoon areas of the world include West African and South American monsoons.

Safeopedia Explains Monsoon

Monsoons are the sea breezes associated with rainy season that occurs in the summer due to a significant difference in temperature of the land and the sea. The imbalance of temperature occurs due to the fact that the oceans and land heat up differently. In the beginning of summer, the air temperature above the sea is stable and cooler compared to that of the land which becomes hot and rises up, creating a huge vacuum known as low pressure. The relatively cooler and heavy air from the ocean then moves towards the land to fill up this vacuum. As the air travels from the sea, it carries a lot of moisture producing cloud and precipitation. In the winter, the cycle is reversed, when the land cools faster than the ocean causing the cooler air over the land to flow towards the ocean.

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