The influence of Monsoons in India can be traced back to around 700 years. This period is known as the colonial era in India. Monsoons are triggered off when the Indian Ocean encounters with the Arabian Sea. This is normally characterized by heavy rainfall that results in floods. Heavy rainfall also lead to mudslides that carry sand and debris to the coastal areas. The coastal areas become flooded, which results in the inundation of various cities in India.
Areas prone to heavy rainfall and flooding include the plains, which experience the maximum temperatures during the monsoons. This affects the crops that are sown during this time of the year. The monsoons do not just affect the populated cities but also the agro-industrial regions. Monsoons are affected by geography because the weather conditions change abruptly and the rainfall that falls in the form of torrential downpours is unexpected.
The western part of India experiences mostly wetter and drier conditions while the eastern part of India is often affected by humid and dry conditions. The monsoons are also affected by geography because mountainous regions are mostly hit by heavy rainfall. The Himalayan region has the distinction of being the only place in the whole of the planet that experiences almost no rainfall during the summer months. Monsoons are affected by geography because the Himalayan Mountains is located near the Indian and Chinese oceans.
The monsoon rainfall is most affected by geography because the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal which lie on the western coast are close to each other. The eastern part of the country also experiences heavy rainfall. The influence of geography can be seen at the International Cricket Council. The matches played by the Indian cricketers against the overseas teams have been affected by the monsoons.
When the equator North and the east coast of Africa receive the maximum summer sunlight, the monsoons are mostly not affected. The winter season in the African continent is the time when the rainfall is the least. This is because the Indian Ocean, the Western Ghats, the Andaman and Nicobar and the Arabian Sea are close by. When the monsoons are affected by geographical factors the rainfall is very minimal in the eastern half of the country.
During the last fifteen years the worldwide average rainfall has decreased by about one percent per annum. This decrease in rainfall is also caused by climate change. The increase in global temperature over the last century is causing evaporative cooling of the upper atmosphere which affects monsoons. The drying of the air in the upper levels of the tropical atmosphere also affects the monsoons. Therefore a combination of climate change, decreasing rainfall and evaporation makes the monsoon regions more susceptible to heavy rainfall.