The Hindu Editorial (Capturing the monsoon) – Oct 03, 2023

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The Hindu Editorial (Capturing the monsoon) – Oct 03, 2023:

capture (verb) – record or store (data) accurately.
variance (noun) – difference, variation, deviation, inconsistent, discrepancy.
insurance (noun) – protection, defence, safeguard, safety measure.
vagary (noun) – peculiarity, oddity, eccentricity, unpredictability.
vagaries (plural noun) – oddity, peculiarity, unpredictability, fluctuation.
deficit (noun) – shortfall, deficiency, shortage.
subdue (verb) – moderate, diminish, lessen, mute.
El Nino (noun) – an unusual/abnormal warming of the waters across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific that lies closer to the Americas). La Niña means abnormal cooling.
on the horizon (phrase) – imminent, impending, approaching, coming, on the way, forthcoming, about to happen, in the wings, on the cards, in the pipeline/offing, just around the corner.
cyclical (adjective) – regular, frequent, repeated, periodic, sporadic, recurrent.
correspond (verb) –represent, signify, indicate.
converse (adjective) – opposite, reverse, inverse, contrary.
phenomenon (noun) – situation, circumstance, occurrence, event, happening.
metric (noun) – measures of quantitative assessment used for comparing, and tracking performance.
mute (verb) – lower, reduce, diminish, decrease.
far from (phrase) – not, not at all; nowhere near, a long way from.
deficient (adjective) – inadequate, insufficient, meagre, scanty, lacking.
on the one hand (phrase) – it is used to introduce the first of two contrasting different, points, facts, or ways of looking at something. It is always followed later by “on the other hand” or ‘on the other’.
deluge (verb) – flood, inundate, submerge, engulf, swamp, immerse.
episode (noun) – spell, phase, period.
for instance (phrase) – as an example.
exceptionally (adverb) – very, extremely, exceedingly, abnormally.
result in (verb) – cause, lead to, bring on, bring about, give rise to.
landslide (noun) – a landslide is defined as the movement of a mass of rock, debris, or earth down a slope. Landslides are a type of “mass wasting,” which denotes any down-slope movement of soil and rock under the direct influence of gravity; landslip, rockfall, mudslide, earthfall/slip.
grapple with (phrasal verb) – struggle, deal with, cope with, face, confront, withstand, stand firm against, stand up to.
cloudburst (noun) – a sudden and very heavy rainfall.
worthwhile (adjective) – significant, important, relevant, effective, meaningful.
intense (adjective) – severe, extreme, high.
so-called (adjective) – supposed, alleged, claimed, professed, reported, ostensible.
Western Disturbances (WD) (noun) – it is an extra-tropical storm which originates in the Mediterranean region. The disturbance travels from the “western” to the eastern direction. A WD is associated with rainfall, snowfall and fog in northern India. Upon its arrival in northern India, clouds along with rain and snow also arrive. The moisture which WDs carry with them comes from the Mediterranean Sea and/or from the Atlantic Ocean.
disturbance (noun) – it means an area of “disturbed” or reduced air pressure.
storm (noun) – it refers to low pressure.
tropical storm (noun) – hurricane, typhoon, cyclone; depression.
tropical storm/cyclone (noun) – a very powerful low-pressure weather system which results in strong winds (over 120 km/h) and heavy rainfall (up to 250 mm in one day). Tropical cyclones have different names depending on where they occur in the world. In the US and the Caribbean they are known as hurricanes, in South Asia – cyclones, in East Asia – typhoons and in Australia they are known as willy-willies. They all develop in the same way and have the same characteristics.
play a role or play a part (phrase) – contribute to, be instrumental in, be a factor in.
fingerprint (noun) – impression; impact, effect, influence.
wide-ranging (adjective) – comprehensive, extensive, broad-ranging.
anthropogenic (adjective) – human-caused, human-influenced, human-induced, man made, artificial.
spectrum (noun) – wide range, gamut, ambit.
drought (noun) – dry spell/period, lack of rain, shortage of water.
water stress or water scarcity (noun) – it occurs when the demand for water exceeds the available amount during a certain period or when poor quality restricts its use.
out of (phrase) – from.
come to a head (phrase) – if something comes to a head, it reaches a critical point/state where you have to take action to deal with it; reach a crisis, come to a climax, reach a critical point.
neighbouring (adjective) – adjacent, bordering, abutting, surrounding; nearby.
meteorological (adjective) – relating to the branch of science that deals with phenomena (events) of the atmosphere or weather.
India Meteorological Department (IMD) (noun) – an agency under the Ministry of Earth Sciences of the Government of India which is responsible for meteorological observations, weather forecasting and seismology. It has the responsibility for forecasting, naming and distributing warnings for tropical cyclones in the Northern Indian Ocean region, including the Malacca Straits, the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf.
forecast (verb) – predict, foresee, estimate, foretell.
north-east monsoon (NEM) (noun) – The northeasterly winds blow from the northeast to the southwest. During their movement, these winds pick up moisture from the Bay of Bengal and dump it over the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and even south Telangana and Karnataka during the three-month period between October and December. It is also referred to as the winter monsoon, retreating monsoon, or reverse monsoon. It offers a mere 11% contribution to India’s annual rainfall, as opposed to the 75% offered by the southwest monsoon.
south-west monsoon (SWM) (noun) – The southwesterly wind flow occurring over most parts of India and Indian Seas gives rise to southwest monsoon over India from June to September. The four-month long summer Monsoon season brings 70% of the country’s annual rainfall. It holds a Long Period Average (LPA) of 89 cm of rain but never behaves in a normal manner. In fact, rainfall distribution mostly remains uneven both in space and time.
long period average (LPA) (noun) – LPA is the average rainfall received by the country as a whole during the south-west monsoon, for a 50-year period. The current LPA is 88 cm, based on the mean (average) rainfall over the years 1951 and 2000.
peninsular (adjective) – describing a part of land surrounded by water on its three sides, but connected to the mainland.
spatial (adjective) – relating to space; occupying space.
reiterate (verb) – repeat, say again, restate.
invest in (verb) – to put in one’s time, effort, money & energy to a specific task (in order to get an advantage).
resilient (adjective) – strong, sturdy, stout/well built, durable.
infrastructure (noun) – the basic physical or organisational structure or framework that a country or organization needs in order to function properly. For a whole nation, it includes all the physical systems such as buildings, roads & railways networks, utilities, etc.
increasingly (adverb) – more and more, steadily more, continuously more, gradually more.
unpredictable (adjective) – uncertain, varying, erratic, irregular, fluctuant, unreliable.
forecast (noun) – prediction, estimation, calculation, reckoning, expectation.
dynamics (noun) – basic/fundamental cause or force that triggers change within a system.
expertise (noun) – skill, knowledge, competence, proficiency, capability.