The Hindu Editorial (Normal is good) – Apr 19, 2021

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast a ‘normal’ monsoon for this year. In the agency’s parlance, normal implies that the country will get 96% to 104% of the 88 cm that it gets from June-September. For further reading, visit “The Hindu”. Below is today’s word list-1 for The Hindu Editorial (Normal is good) – Apr 19, 2021.

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Courtesy: The Hindu

The Hindu Editorial (Normal is good) – Apr 19, 2021:

India Meteorological Department (IMD) (noun) – an agency under the Ministry of Earth Sciences of the Government of India which is responsible for meteorological observations, weather forecasting and seismology. It has the responsibility for forecasting, naming and distributing warnings for tropical cyclones in the Northern Indian Ocean region, including the Malacca Straits, the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf.
forecast (noun) – prediction, indication, projection, prognosis, speculation, calculation (of future events or trends).
aid (verb) – help, assist, be of service to.
forecast (verb) – predict, foresee, estimate, foretell, project.
parlance (noun) – expression, way of speaking, language.
imply (verb) – say indirectly, suggest, indicate.
long period average (LPA) (noun) – LPA is the average rainfall received by the country as a whole during the south-west monsoon, for a 50-year period. The current LPA is 88 cm, based on the mean (average) rainfall over the years 1951 and 2000.
two-stage forecast system (phrase) – the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast the monsoon with both “statistical systems” and “dynamical systems”. “statistical systems” are long-range forecasts that only give a broad tenuous (weak) picture of the likely performance of the monsoon, whereas “dynamical system” is more sophisticated with high-resolution computer models and gives localised forecasts. These shorter forecasts are far more practical. Though meteorological agencies around the world are shifting to these new “dynamical techniques”, they still aren’t considered entirely reliable for forecasting the monsoon.
prognosis (noun) – forecast, prediction, projection, estimate.
likely (adverb) – probable, distinctly possible, to be expected.
peninsula (noun) – an area of land almost surrounded by water (on three sides) and one side attached to the mainland.
given (preposition) – considering, taking into account, bearing in mind.
sowing (noun) – an act of seeding a plant or crop.
correspond (verb) – represent, signify, denote, indicate.
monsoon core zone (noun) – it represents the major rain-fed agricultural regions of the country.
rainfed agriculture (noun) – agriculture that depends on natural rainfall rather than irrigation.
extension (noun) – widening, enhancement, development, continuation.
reliance on (noun) – confidence in, dependence, belief in.
dynamical monsoon model (noun) – In this model, the climate on any particular day is simulated on supercomputers and meteorologists observe the changing daily output – much like a computer simulation of an event is allowed to unfold over time. The dynamical models generate forecasts based on evolving weather patterns.
statistical monsoon model (noun) – the traditional statistical model equates relationships of physical parameters, such as for instance sea surface temperatures, snowfall, the temperature of landmass etc with the actual observed rainfall in the past.
meteorological (adjective) – relating to the branch of science that deals with phenomena (events) of the atmosphere or weather.
variables (noun) – something (an element/factor) that is subjected to change/vary.
correlate (verb) – connect, associate, relate.
evolve (verb) – alter, change, transform gradually; develop, progress, advance gradually.
primarily (adverb) – basically, especially, particularly.
predicate on/upon (phrasal verb) – base, be dependent, found, establish, premise.
equatorial (noun) – near the equator. (tropical/equatorial -relating to the region of the Earth near to the equator and between the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere).
end up (phrasal verb) – come/appear, find oneself (to a particular course of action in the end).
El Nino (noun) – an unusual/abnormal warming of the waters across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific that lies closer to the Americas). La Niña means abnormal cooling.
unlikely (adjective) – doubtful, implausible, improbable, questionable.
Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) (noun) – it is defined by the difference in the sea surface temperature between the two equatorial areas of the Indian Ocean – a western pole near the Arabian Sea (in the western Indian Ocean) and an eastern pole closer to the Bay of Bengal (in the eastern Indian Ocean). The IOD affects the climate of Southeast Asia, Australia and other countries across the Indian Ocean.
preparedness (noun) – readiness.
block-level planning (noun) – lowest level planning; (block as the basic unit of development administration).
accompany (verb) – occur with, co-occur with, coincide with, coexist with.
in terms of (phrase) – with regard to, regarding/concerning, in connection with.
infrastructure (noun) – the basic physical or organisational structure or framework.
front (noun) – an area of operation; a particular situation.