The satellite-determined thermal structure of heat low during Indian south-west monsoon season

One of the important climatic features of the south-west (SW) monsoon period in the Indian subcontinent is the appearance of a shallow heat low centred around Pakistan region. The details of this system are not easy to observe, as the region lies mostly over a desert area. However, satellite soundings provide a frequent and synoptic view of the system. We have undertaken a study of the properties of this system through lower level and upper level thermal structure around the region using NOAA temperature soundings. The results for the months of April, May and June in the year 1982 are presented here. The temperature changes in the region are studied in relation to the date of the onset of SW-monsoon and its activity in the Indian sub-continent.