干旱区生态环境知识资源中心

The trends of both rainfall and circulation strength of the Indian summer monsoon has been reviving since 2002. Here, using observational data, we demonstrate a statistically significant greening over the Northwest Indian Subcontinent and a consequent decline in dust abundance due to the monsoon revival. The enhanced monsoonal rainfall causes an increase in soil moisture, which results in a significant greening in the Northwest Indian Subcontinent. These increases in rainfall, soil moisture, and vegetation together lead to a substantial reduction of the dust abundance in this region, especially the Thar Desert, as shown by a negative trend in satellite-retrieved aerosol optical depth. The monsoonal rainfall-induced trends in vegetation growth and dust abundance in the Northwest Indian Subcontinent have important implications for agriculture production and air quality given the projected increases and a westward expansion of the global summer monsoon rainfall at the end of this century.