**Executive Summary**
This document reports on research by Indian scientists who have uncovered insights into vertical air motion over the Himalayas and its impact on the Indian monsoons. Using data from a Stratosphere-Troposphere radar, they made high-resolution measurements during the Asian Summer Monsoon months, identifying a new feature: persistent downward-moving air between 10 and 11 km above Earth's surface. The research findings were published in the journal "Earth and Space Science" by the American Geophysical Union (AGU).
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Research Focus:**
* Investigated vertical air motion over the Himalayas and its influence on the Indian monsoons.
* Aimed to improve monsoon prediction for agriculture, water management, and disaster preparedness in South Asia.
* **Methodology:**
* Utilized data from the indigenously developed Stratosphere-Troposphere (ST) radar at ARIES, Nainital.
* Made direct and high-resolution measurements of vertical air motion during the Asian Summer Monsoon (ASM).
* **Key Findings:**
* Identified persistent downward-moving air between 10 and 11 km above Earth's surface within the Asian Summer Monsoon Anticyclone (ASMA).
* Revealed that vertical circulation within the ASMA is more complex than previously understood, with alternating regions of rising and sinking air.
* Observed clear variations in vertical air movement in the lower and middle troposphere, while upward airflow above 12 km remained mostly unchanged.
* **Potential Impact:**
* The research holds immense potential for developing more accurate weather forecasts.
* Findings can help in strengthening early warning systems.
* May improve climate models to protect agriculture, water resources, and human health.
* Can enhance assessments of pollutant and greenhouse gas transport for improved air quality management.
* **Publication Details:**
* The research was published in "Earth and Space Science" by the American Geophysical Union (AGU).
* Publication Link: https://doi.org/10.1029/2025EA004232
**Impact Analysis**
**Researchers/Scientists:**
* **Impact:** Provided new insights into the complexities of vertical air movement during the Asian Summer Monsoon.
* **Action Required:** Utilize the findings to develop more accurate weather models and forecasting techniques.
**Policymakers/Government:**
* **Impact:** Can use research to strengthen early warning systems and improve disaster preparedness.
* **Action Required:** Implement strategies to address air quality management and climate change mitigation based on the research.
**Farmers/Agricultural Sector:**
* **Impact:** More accurate monsoon predictions can aid in better agricultural planning and water resource management.
* **Action Required:** Adapt farming practices based on improved monsoon forecasts to protect crops and livelihoods.
**General Public (South Asia):**
* **Impact:** Can benefit from improved air quality and more effective climate change mitigation strategies.
* **Action Required:** N/A
Key Entities Referenced
Asian Summer Monsoon Anticyclone (ASMA): A giant swirling system over the central Himalayas during the Asian Summer Monsoon months.
Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES): An autonomous research institute under the Department of Science & Technology (DST) at Nainital. The institute utilized a radar in the Himalayas.
Department of Science & Technology (DST): The ministry under which ARIES operates.
Himalayas: The mountain range over which the vertical air motion and its impact on monsoons were studied.
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO): An organization whose Space Physics Laboratory (SPL) was involved in the study.
Ministry of Science & Technology
Secrets of influence of Himalayan air movements
on monsoons can improve predictions
प्रव तथ: 12 DEC 2025 4:51PM by PIB Delhi
A team of Indian scientists have uncovered mysteries of how vertical air motion over the Himalaya have
shaped the Indian monsoons, the lifeline of South Asia for centuries.
Scientists are constantly looking towards ways for improved prediction of the Indian monsoon needed
for agriculture, water management, and disaster preparedness across South Asia, where millions of
people rely on monsoon rainfall for their livelihoods. It will also help better assessment of air quality
over South Asia.
New insights into the hidden patterns of airflow over the Himalayas are now making this possible.
However, the limited studies of vertical air movement in this region so far have relied on indirect balloon
or satellite-based measurements, which cannot capture the long-term fine-scale variability of vertical air
motion in the complex Himalayan terrain.
Scientists from Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), an autonomous
research institute under the Department of Science & Technology (DST) at Nainital along with Space
Physics Laboratory (SPL) of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), at Thiruvananthapuram
carried out the first direct and high-resolution measurements of vertical air motion during the Asian
Summer Monsoon (ASM) months over the central Himalayas within the Asian Summer Monsoon
Anticyclone (ASMA) region.
For this they utilized long-term observation data from the indigenously developed Stratosphere-
Troposphere (ST) radar located at ARIES, Nainital, in the central Himalayas. This radar helped them
‘see’ the wind sensing the faintest vertical motions of air.
For two years the scientists pointed this radar upward, collecting thousands of hours of
data as the radar-based measurements from this study filled a critical gap, providing the first continuous,
precise, and high-resolution measurements of mean vertical air velocity as low as 5 cm s-1 over the
Himalayas in all-weather conditions.
They were hunting for the vertical push and pull of wind inside the Asian Summer Monsoon
Anticyclone, a giant swirling system that sits over the region every monsoon.
They identified a persistent downward- moving air between 10 and 11 km above Earth’s surface, a new
feature that reveals a distinct region of descending motion in the upper troposphere during the monsoon
months, indicating that vertical circulation within the Asian Summer Monsoon Anticyclone is more
complex than previously understood, with alternating regions of rising and sinking air. The study also
shows clear variations in vertical air movement in the lower and middle troposphere, while the steady
upward air flow above 12 km stayed mostly unchanged.Fig. Contour Frequency Altitude Diagrams showing how often different values of vertical velocity occur
at each height for each month during clear-air conditions, based on the 2-year composite. The solid
black lines indicate the 1%, 10%, and 25% occurrence levels. The panel on the far right displays the
monthly mean vertical velocity profiles for June, July, August, September, and October.
These results provide new insights into how air moves vertically within the anticyclone, especially the
slow, steady rise above 12 km and the “two-step” process that carries air from the lower troposphere to
the stratosphere.
The research, published in, “Earth and Space Science”, by American Geophysical Union (AGU), hold
immense potential for developing more accurate weather forecasts, strengthening early warning systems,
and improving climate models that can protect agriculture, water resources, and human health.
Understanding the vertical motion within the Asian Summer Monsoon Anticyclone will also enhance
assessments of pollutant and greenhouse gas transport, thereby contributing to improved air quality
management and more effective climate change mitigation strategies.
Publication link: https://doi.org/10.1029/2025EA004232
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