Articles | Volume 7, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-7-1-2026
© Author(s) 2026. 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-7-1-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
05 Jan 2026
Research article |
| 05 Jan 2026
| 05 Jan 2026
The multi-year negative Indian Ocean Dipole of 2021–2022
Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Pune, India
Gill M. Martin
Met Office, Exeter, UK
Maheswar Pradhan
Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Pune, India
Suryachandra A. Rao
Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Pune, India
Sarah Ineson
Met Office, Exeter, UK
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Short summary
This study documents the dynamics behind the first occurrence of a multi-year negative Indian Ocean Dipole since the 1960s, which lasted for an unprecedented 19 months, and co-occurred with the triple-dip La Niña event of 2020–2022. The co-occurrence of such extremes is rare and can exacerbate the associated climate risk. We find that Indian Ocean conditions limited the impact of La Niña on the Indian Summer Monsoon, preventing excessive monsoonal rainfall.
This study documents the dynamics behind the first occurrence of a multi-year negative Indian...
