Aerosol indirect effect during the aberrant Indian Summer Monsoon breaks of 2009

The significant role of aerosol–cloud interaction during the large-scale drought producing breaks of 2009 Indian Summer Monsoon is investigated in the present paper. This mega drought had already been attributed to two long breaks, one in June and the other in July-August. While Central India (CI) and northern parts of the country experienced deficient rainfall, the rainfall over the southern Peninsular India (PI) remained close to normal. During the first break in June, which was associated with mid-latitude intrusion of dry air, the Twomey effect (positive aerosol indirect effect – AIE) was a dominant factor inhibiting efficient precipitation over CI region, as compared to that over PI. Moreover, the number of days that experienced significant (at 5% level of significance) positive AIE during the first break was more over CI compared to the same during the second break. The AIE on ice clouds was not as significant as that of the low-clouds. The resulting cloud properties during both break and active phases over CI differ significantly from that over PI for the corresponding periods. The positive AIE mentioned here is attributed to the large-scale deficit of moisture supply to the CI region due to dynamical reasons. However, it is shown that under ample availability of moisture, more aerosols could invigorate deep clouds over specific regions even during the break spells.