The hydrological processes (floods and droughts) in the Asian region are largely controlled by the interaction between Indian Summer monsoon, East Asian monsoon, mid-latitude westerlies, along with the high mountain glaciers. Studies based on the natural archives, such as lake and marine sediments, speleothem and tree rings indicate that these components are independent of each other. However, the significant interaction between these components has a direct impact on the billions of people in the Asian continent. The impact of these components points out that the monsoon variability is in a transitional phase and heads towards a significant “tipping point.” Tipping points are critical states at which a small perturbation can alter the system either to its previous state or towards a future state. However, in the climate system, the factors controlling the tipping points are not clearly understood. The natural as well as the anthropogenic factors are the critical tipping elements that could cause the significant irreversible change in the tipping points in the natural climate systems. The paleo-data can be used to validate the climate models for the future climate prediction and delineate the role of anthropogenic versus natural climate variability in the region.
In this session we invite scientists working with palaeoclimate data, instrumental observations and climate modelling, to discuss: (i) the challenges associated with an accurate prediction of climate system on various timescales for identifying the tipping points in the Asian region; (ii) role of different teleconnections (such as El-Niño, land-sea temperature differences and north Atlantic oscillations) controlling the Asian monsoonal systems; and (iii) the anthropogenic influence on shaping the Asian climate.