monsoon

thumb|upright=1.2|Advancing monsoon clouds and showers in Aralvaimozhy, near Nagercoil, [[Tamil Nadu, India]] thumb|upright=1.2|Monsoon clouds arriving at Port Blair, Andaman, India

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A monsoon is a seasonal wind pattern that brings heavy rains to certain regions, particularly in tropical and subtropical areas. Monsoons are important because they deliver much of the annual rainfall that millions of people depend on for agriculture, drinking water, and freshwater ecosystems.

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Commons category: Monsoon

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Article

21 sections

Contents

Etymology
History
Asian monsoon
Australian monsoon
South American monsoon
Process
Global monsoon
Summary table
Africa (West African and Southeast African) {{anchor|Africa}}
North America
Asia
South Asian monsoon
Southwest monsoon
Northeast monsoon
East Asian monsoon
Australia
Europe
See also
References
Further reading
External links

thumb|upright=1.2|Advancing monsoon clouds and showers in Aralvaimozhy, near Nagercoil, [[Tamil Nadu, India]] thumb|upright=1.2|Monsoon clouds arriving at Port Blair, Andaman, India

A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscillation of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) between its limits to the north and south of the equator. Usually, the term monsoon is used to refer to the rainy phase of a seasonally changing pattern, although technically there is also a dry phase. The term is also sometimes used to describe locally heavy but short-term rains.