Articles | Volume 6, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-6-43-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-6-43-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Review article
| 
09 Jan 2025
Review article |
| 09 Jan 2025
| 09 Jan 2025
Western disturbances and climate variability: a review of recent developments
Kieran M. R. Hunt
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Meteorology, University of Reading, Reading, UK
National Centre for Atmospheric Sciences, University of Reading, Reading UK
Jean-Philippe Baudouin
Department of Geosciences, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
Andrew G. Turner
Department of Meteorology, University of Reading, Reading, UK
National Centre for Atmospheric Sciences, University of Reading, Reading UK
A. P. Dimri
School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
Indian Institute of Geomagnetism, Mumbai, India
Ghulam Jeelani
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, India
Pooja
School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
Rajib Chattopadhyay
India Meteorological Department, Ministry of Earth Sciences, New Delhi, India
Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, India
Forest Cannon
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, USA
T. Arulalan
Centre for Atmospheric Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, India
India Meteorological Department, Ministry of Earth Sciences, New Delhi, India
M. S. Shekhar
Defence Geoinformatics Research Establishment, Chandigarh, India
T. P. Sabin
Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, India
Eliza Palazzi
Department of Physics, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
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Cited
23 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Doppler weather radar-based 5-year climatology of winter storms over the National Capital Region of India A. Kumar et al.
- Decoding monsoon dynamics: machine learning and regime analytics for seasonal rainfall in Hyderabad V. Guhan et al.
- Tree-ring evidence marks year 2022 as the driest spring season in nearly four centuries in the Western Himalayas P. Pandey et al.
- Spatiotemporal Rainfall Variability over the Northwest Himalayas K. Mishra & S. Azad
- Sudden stratospheric warming linked to extreme cold weather in North India: Physical processes and impacts K. Athira et al.
- Linking subtropical jet persistence to early-spring heat events in South and West Asia A. Banerjee et al.
- The Holocene sedimentary record of Mittie Glacier dynamics in Smith Bay, Ellesmere Island (eastern Canadian Arctic Archipelago) E. Bracquart et al.
- Building and explaining data-driven energy demand models for Indian states K. Hunt & H. Bloomfield
- Snowfall decrease in recent years undermines glacier health and meltwater resources in the Northwestern Pamirs A. Jouberton et al.
- Unseasonal lightning over the Indian Region: Case study integrating observations and model simulations G. Rakshit et al.
- Development of a Precipitation-Induced Moisture-Driven Landslide Threshold Atlas for the Northwestern and Northeastern Himalayas D. Monga & P. Ganguli
- How seas whisper to snow: teleconnections drive spatio–temporal variability of snow cover in Western Himalayas S. Sengupta & R. Das Bhowmik
- Advancing Spatiotemporal Analysis of Climate Variability: Current Trends, Future Projections, Causes, and Impacts on Maize Production in Southern Ethiopia T. Zeleke et al.
- Forest-stand structure and treeline dynamics of Himalayan Fir over the last four centuries in Kashmir, western Himalaya S. Jain et al.
- Unfolding extreme precipitation and flood events in the Kashmir Himalaya J. Dar et al.
- Multi-platform observational monitoring of western disturbance -induced extreme precipitation over central india S. Arya et al.
- Spatiotemporal trend analysis of the annual and seasonal rainfall in selected regions across the Northwest Himalayas A. Chandel et al.
- Weather and Climate Extremes in Populated Global Monsoon Regions in 2025 W. Zhang et al.
- Dynamics of snow and glacier cover in the Upper Karnali Basin, Nepal: an analysis of its relationship with climatic and topographic parameters M. Ghimire et al.
- Climatology of hailstorms over India (1994–2023): exploring trends and associations with thermodynamic indices . Bhavyasree et al.
- Impact of El Niño Southern Oscillation and Indian ocean dipole on wildfire across the Indian forests A. Prabhakaran & P. Srivastava
- Spatiotemporal analysis of land surface temperature and wind dynamics during winter in Bangladesh H. Dastour et al.
- Unprecedented winter precipitation over Delhi NCR, India (December 2024): a multi-Sensor perspective G. Rakshit et al.
23 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Doppler weather radar-based 5-year climatology of winter storms over the National Capital Region of India A. Kumar et al.
- Decoding monsoon dynamics: machine learning and regime analytics for seasonal rainfall in Hyderabad V. Guhan et al.
- Tree-ring evidence marks year 2022 as the driest spring season in nearly four centuries in the Western Himalayas P. Pandey et al.
- Spatiotemporal Rainfall Variability over the Northwest Himalayas K. Mishra & S. Azad
- Sudden stratospheric warming linked to extreme cold weather in North India: Physical processes and impacts K. Athira et al.
- Linking subtropical jet persistence to early-spring heat events in South and West Asia A. Banerjee et al.
- The Holocene sedimentary record of Mittie Glacier dynamics in Smith Bay, Ellesmere Island (eastern Canadian Arctic Archipelago) E. Bracquart et al.
- Building and explaining data-driven energy demand models for Indian states K. Hunt & H. Bloomfield
- Snowfall decrease in recent years undermines glacier health and meltwater resources in the Northwestern Pamirs A. Jouberton et al.
- Unseasonal lightning over the Indian Region: Case study integrating observations and model simulations G. Rakshit et al.
- Development of a Precipitation-Induced Moisture-Driven Landslide Threshold Atlas for the Northwestern and Northeastern Himalayas D. Monga & P. Ganguli
- How seas whisper to snow: teleconnections drive spatio–temporal variability of snow cover in Western Himalayas S. Sengupta & R. Das Bhowmik
- Advancing Spatiotemporal Analysis of Climate Variability: Current Trends, Future Projections, Causes, and Impacts on Maize Production in Southern Ethiopia T. Zeleke et al.
- Forest-stand structure and treeline dynamics of Himalayan Fir over the last four centuries in Kashmir, western Himalaya S. Jain et al.
- Unfolding extreme precipitation and flood events in the Kashmir Himalaya J. Dar et al.
- Multi-platform observational monitoring of western disturbance -induced extreme precipitation over central india S. Arya et al.
- Spatiotemporal trend analysis of the annual and seasonal rainfall in selected regions across the Northwest Himalayas A. Chandel et al.
- Weather and Climate Extremes in Populated Global Monsoon Regions in 2025 W. Zhang et al.
- Dynamics of snow and glacier cover in the Upper Karnali Basin, Nepal: an analysis of its relationship with climatic and topographic parameters M. Ghimire et al.
- Climatology of hailstorms over India (1994–2023): exploring trends and associations with thermodynamic indices . Bhavyasree et al.
- Impact of El Niño Southern Oscillation and Indian ocean dipole on wildfire across the Indian forests A. Prabhakaran & P. Srivastava
- Spatiotemporal analysis of land surface temperature and wind dynamics during winter in Bangladesh H. Dastour et al.
- Unprecedented winter precipitation over Delhi NCR, India (December 2024): a multi-Sensor perspective G. Rakshit et al.
Saved (final revised paper)
Latest update: 28 Apr 2026
Short summary
Western disturbances (WDs) are storms that predominantly affect north India and Pakistan during the winter months, where they play an important role in regional water security, but can also bring a range of natural hazards. In this review, we summarise recent literature across a range of topics: their structure and lifecycle, precipitation and impacts, interactions with large-scale weather patterns, representation in models, how well they are forecast, and their response to changes in climate.
Western disturbances (WDs) are storms that predominantly affect north India and Pakistan during...
