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Western Disturbances and Climate Variability
A Review of Recent Developments
Speakers
Would you believe a storm born in the Mediterranean could shape life in the Himalayas?
From sudden cold spells and heavy fog to the rain and snow that sustain our northern plains and mountains, much of India’s winter climate is shaped by travelling storms known as western disturbances. In this talk, we delve into what science has uncovered about these storms: how they form, how they intensify, and how well we can monitor and predict their behaviour.
Formed over the Mediterranean and neighbouring regions, these powerful systems journey across continents before meeting the Himalayas, where moisture from the Arabian Sea transforms them into vital sources of rain and snow. They replenish glaciers, support rabi crops, and provide essential water security. But nature is always balanced, and these storms can also have disastrous impacts: triggering avalanches, flash floods, landslides, thunderstorms, and the extreme events that increasingly mark our winters.
As climate change alters their frequency, intensity, and interaction with the monsoon, understanding these systems becomes crucial for forecasting, water security, and disaster preparedness.
A session for anyone curious about weather, climate, and the forces shaping India’s future!
This session is part of the Let’s Talk Climate Change Talk series.
Presented by:
Speakers
Kieran Hunt
Dr Kieran M R Hunt is a Senior Research Scientist in Tropical and Himalayan Meteorology in the Department of Meteorology at the University of Reading. He completed his PhD there in 2016, on the topic of Indian monsoon depressions, following graduation from his physics degree in Oxford in 2013. His postdoctoral research focused on monsoon low-pressure systems and western disturbances, fields in which he has made numerous discoveries. These contributions were recognised in 2022, when he was awarded the prestigious NERC Independent Research Fellowship. In 2023, he became the co-director of the newly-established Hub for Applied Weather and Climate.
Kieran has a wide range of interests aside from those listed above, including climate change, hydrological forecasting, and developing novel machine learning and AI techniques for meteorology. He has also collaborated extensively with scientists from across India over the last decade. At Reading, he has taught on a wide range of subjects, including machine learning and numerical weather prediction.
Harini Nagendra
Harini Nagendra is Director of Research Centre, and Director, School of Climate Change and Sustainability, at Azim Premji University. Her work focuses on urban ecology, forest conservation and climate change amongst other themes. She is a well-known public speaker and writer on issues of urban sustainability in India Her books include Nature in the City: Bengaluru in the Past, Present and Future; Cities and Canopies: Trees of Indian Cities; So Many Leaves, and Shades of Blue: Connecting the Drops in India’s Cities. She also writes the acclaimed Bangalore Detectives Club series, a set of historical mysteries set in 1920s Bangalore.
