Researchers to use robots to study Indian monsoons

Better forecasting would improve the livelihoods of India's more than 200 million farmers and agricultural labourers

Scientists from the UK and India are to use underwater robots in the Bay of Bengal in a bid to more accurately predict seasonal monsoons in the region.

Better forecasting would improve the livelihoods of India's more than 200 million farmers and agricultural labourers.

Scientists from the University of East Anglia will release seven robots from a ship next week to study how ocean processes influence monsoon rainfall.

The robots will spend a month moving through a southern section of the bay, to measure temperature, salinity and currents.

Adrian Matthews, lead researcher of the University of East Anglia's School of Environmental Sciences, said: "We are aiming for a better understanding of the actual physical processes. Ultimately, the goal is to improve the prediction of monsoon rainfall over India."

At the same time, scientists from the University of Reading and climate specialists in India will use instruments on board an aircraft flying from the southern city of Bangalore to measure heat and moisture in the air.

The data will be beamed backed to scientists via satellite and will be used to create computer models of the ocean to determine how it affects weather and rainfall over India.