India monsoons worsen as climate changes: study

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061130/sc_nm/globalwarming_monsoon_dc



India monsoons worsen as climate changes: study

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - India's monsoon rains have intensified over the last half-century as average temperatures have risen, and more severe weather could be in store if global warming continues, scientists reported on Thursday.

Heavy rains come more frequently and are more severe now than they were in 1951, the researchers wrote in the journal Science.

At the same time, moderate rains -- the kind that are more easily absorbed -- decreased, leaving the mean rainfall record about the same as it was five decades ago.

"The extreme events are so damaging because they pour in a large amount of rainfall over a small area in a very short time, leading to flash floods and landslides," B.N. Goswami of the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology wrote in answer to e-mailed questions.