IMPACT OF LATENT HEAT FLUX ON INDIAN SUMMER MONSOON DURING EL NIÑO/LA NIÑA YEARS

El Niño or La Niña manifest in December over the Pacific and will serve as an index for the forecasting of subsequent Indian summer monsoon, which occurs from June to mid-September. In the present article, an attempt is made to study the variation of latent heat flux (LHF) over the north Indian Ocean during strong El Niño and strong La Niña and relate it with Indian monsoon rainfall. During strong El Niño the LHF intensity is higher and associated with higher wind speed and lower cloud amount. During El Niño all India rainfall is having an inverse relation with LHF. Seasonal rainfall is higher in YY+1 (subsequent year) than YY (year of occurrence). However there is a lag in rainfall during El Niño YY+1 from June to July when compared with the monthly rainfall.