NEW DELHI—In an effort to better understand and predict South Asia’s seasonal monsoon, British scientists are getting ready to release robots into the Bay of Bengal in a study of how ocean conditions might affect rainfall patterns. The seasonal monsoon, which hits the region between June and September, delivers more than 70 per cent of India’s annual rainfall. The torpedo-shaped robots will glide through the water, monitoring its salinity, temperature and current before surfacing and transmitting data to a satellite. “Ultimately, the goal is to improve the prediction of monsoon rainfall over India.”As part of the newly launched $11 million (U.S.) study, British scientists will spend a month at sea releasing seven underwater robots from an Indian research ship across a 400-kilometre stretch of water. And scientists say they may also become even more erratic with increasing climate change and even air pollution.

Source: thestar June 14, 2016 13:41 UTC