Indo-China Monsoon Indices

Myanmar and Thailand often experience severe droughts and floods that cause irreparable damage to the socio-economy condition of both countries. In this study, the Southeastern Asian Summer Monsoon variation is found to be the main element of interannual precipitation variation of the region, more than the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The ENSO influence is evident only during the boreal spring season. Although the monsoon is the major factor, the existing Indian Monsoon Index (IMI) and Western North Pacific Monsoon Index (WNPMI) do not correlate well with the precipitation variation in the study regions of Southern Myanmar and Thailand. Therefore, a new set of indices is developed based on the regional monsoon variations and presented here for the first time. Precipitation variations in Southern Myanmar and Thailand differ as well as the elements affecting the precipitation variations in different seasons. So, separate indices are proposed for each season for Southern Myanmar and Thailand. Four new monsoon indices based on wind anomalies are formulated and are named as the Indochina Monsoon Indices. These new indices correlate better with the precipitation variations of the study region as compared to the existing IMI and WNPMI.