Wind is a moving air. This movement will be felt by humans. Wind as one of the elements in nature has different strengths and sources. Wind does not only consist of one type and one form. Did you know that this wind is differentiated into several types? Based on the source, time of occurrence, and also its strength, winds are diverse. There are several types of wind that we often read on books, such as land winds, sea breezes, valley winds, mountain winds, hurricanes, monsoons, tornadoes and so on. All kinds of wind have their own definition and certainly have certain characteristics so that they are called winds.
One type of wind that we know or at least we have heard of is the Monsoon wind. Then, what exactly is meant by this Monsoon wind? In this opportunity, we will discuss further and certainly more detail from this Monsoon wind.
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Monsoon wind is an air mass movement that occurs because of the difference in air pressure that strikes between land and ocean. The word “monsoon” itself seems to originate from an Arabic word which means “season”. This word is the word most often used to refer to seasonal changes in wind direction along the coast of the Indian Ocean, especially in the Arabian Sea, which blows from the southwest in half a year, then from the northeast for another year.
This Monsoon wind is thought to have first been used for sailing or fishing, namely by the legendary Greek sailor Hippalus. In the legend, Hippalus is traditionally considered the first person to use the monsoon to accelerate his voyage along the Indian Ocean. Even the ancient name for monsoon in this area is “Hippalus”. However, there are those who claim that Hippalus was probably only the first person from the Greeks to use the monsoon because Yemeni sailors had been trading with India for a long time in the previous mesa. In essence, the monsoon is used for trade. Then, what exactly is the process of the monsoon itself?
The Process of Monsoon Wind
It has been said before that this monsoon wind is a wind that blows from the southwest to the northeast and vice versa in alternating times. The process of monsoon is influenced by the existence of two continents in the world that are in the northern hemisphere and also the southern hemisphere that flanks two oceans. An example is the Asian Continent (northern part) and the Australian Continent (southern part) which then flanks two oceans, namely the Indian Ocean and also the southwestern part of the Pacific Ocean.
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Monsoon wind occurs because the land starts to warm up and also cooling down faster than in the water. This causes the air temperature on land to be hotter than in the sea on the summer. Hot air on land will usually increase and at the same time this will create a low pressure area. This will create a very constant wind that blows towards the land.
In these times the associated rainfall is due to the humid sea air which is then diverted towards the mountains, which will then cause a cooling, then a condensation.
In winter, the air on land will cool down quickly, but the hot air in the sea will last longer. The hot air above the sea will grow up, and then create a low-pressure area and gentle breeze from the land towards the ocean.
Because of the difference in temperature between the sea and also the land is smaller than when it is hot, the monsoon that typifies winter is not so constant. This monsoon wind is similar to sea breeze, but has a larger, stronger, and more constant size.
In the tropics or regions, the occurrence of monsoons is influenced by differences in sunlight. In July, the sun was around the northern reverse latitude or 23.5 LU, and at that time the Asian continent received maximum illumination. Because of that, the air temperature in the Asian continent is very high above the air temperature in the ocean.
As a result of this, the Asian mainland has become a low pressure center while the air pressure in both oceans is relatively higher, and vice versa, on the Australian continent at that time was experiencing winter, so that it became a central area of high energy that exceeds the air pressure in the Indian Ocean. As a result of this pressure, there was a monsoon movement from the Australian continent through the Indian Ocean and also from the Pacific Ocean from the southwest to the Asian continent.
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Types of Monsoon Wind
We already know about the meaning of monsoon and also the process of monsoon. Did you know that this monsoon drag is a blowing wind because it is influenced by the existence of two continents flanking two oceans? It turns out that the monsoon itself is broken down into two types, namely the western monsoon and also the east monsoon. Then, what is the meaning of each type of monsoon and what is the difference between each? Before we discuss the explanation of each type of monsoon, we need to know in advance what influences the power of the monsoon’s blowing.
One of the things that affects the size of the air pressure in this monsoon is the existence of the sun or the position of the sun against the Earth. There are at least four solar points or times on the Earth, namely:
- On the 21st of June, the sun is at or at 23.5 degrees LU.
- On September 23rd, the position of the sun is or circulates above the equator.
- On December 22nd, the position of the sun is or circulates at 23.5 degrees LS.
- On March 21st, the position of the sun is in circulation in the equator.
These positions will later affect the occurrence of monsoon winds that blow from the southwest to the northeast and also from the northeast to the southwest. Broadly speaking, monsoon wind is divided into two types, namely the west monsoon and also the east monsoon.
- West Monsoon Wind
West monsoon wind or also referred to as the northeast winter monsoon is a monsoon wind that blows in the period from October to April. At that time, the apparent position of the sun in the southern hemisphere. This causes high air pressure in the Asian continent and air pressure is low in the continent of Australia. At that time, wind blew from the continent of Asia to the continent of Australia. Because of the wind blowing through the Indian Ocean, the wind contains a lot of water vapor, so that in October to March, Indonesia experiences the rainy season. So this west monsoon will have an impact on Indonesia experiencing the rainy season.
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Another explanation for this western monsoon is that in December, the sun is at the southern turning line or 23.5 LS. At this time, the Asian mainland became a high pressure center, while the Australian mainland became a low pressure center. According to Buys Ballot law, the wind will blow from areas that have maximum pressure to areas that have minimum pressure. And because it is towards the equator or equator, the wind will be deflected to the left. Then, the monsoon moves from the continent of Asia to the continent of Australia and also from the Pacific Ocean in the southwest through central and also eastern Indonesia to the continent of Australia.
- East Monsoon Wind
East monsoon wind is also referred to as the southwest summer monsoon. This east monsoon wind is a monsoon that blows between April and October in Indonesia. This east monsoon wind blows when the sun is in the northern hemisphere. This will cause the continent of Australia to experience winter so that it has maximum pressure, and at that time the Asian continent will be hotter and have a minimum pressure. Again according to the Law of Buys Ballot, the wind will blow from the area that has the maximum pressure to the area that experiences minimum pressure, so this will cause the wind to blow from the continent of Australia to the region of the continent of Asia. And because it goes to the north of the equator or the equator, the wind will be deflected to the right.
At this time, the wind will have an impact that Indonesia will experience a dry season. This happens because the blowing wind passes through the desert area which is located in the northern part of the Australian continent that is dry and the wind is only through a narrow ocean. As a result the wind does not contain moisture and will cause Indonesia to experience a dry season. So from that why does the air in Indonesia during the dry season feel hot? This is because of the effects of the blowing wind through the desert so that Indonesia will receive the heat of the air because the winds that blow also have dry properties.
That is the answer to why in Indonesia there are two very regular seasons of presence, namely the rainy season and also the dry season. It turns out that these two seasons can occur because of the monsoon winds. Are there any other benefits that can be obtained from the two winds?
Impact of Monsoon Wind
Monsoon wind is a wind that does not just blow just as easily. It turns out that this monsoon has many benefits. One of these monsoons was used in ancient times to accelerate shipping. So that people who sail from the Asian continent to the Australian continent can take advantage of the western monsoon. And for those who want to sail from the continent of Australia to the continent of Asia can take advantage of the blowing of the east monsoon. This will shorten the time and energy as well as being helped by the presence of this blowing wind. But, this was used in ancient times when people still loved to sail using traditional boats. That is a bit of a positive impact from this monsoon wind. In this section, we will discuss the positive impacts and also the negative effects of this wind.
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Positive Impact
The winds that blow alternately every six months turned out to have a positive impact and also a negative impact. Then what are the positive and negative effects due to the blowing of the wind?
- The Positive Impact of the West Monsoon Wind
The positive effects of the west monsoon wind are as follows:
- Plants are more fertile and also greener – West monsoon winds give effect to the rainy season in Indonesia. As a result, the rainfall becomes high. Due to this high rainfall, more water will be absorbed by plants so that the plants will become more fertile and fresh.
- No need to use artificial waters to irrigate rice fields – The impact of the rainy season is because the monsoon winds cause higher rainfall. This has a positive impact on farmers because they do not need to use artificial irrigation to irrigate their fields. This of course will save farmers’ expenses to be able to maintain their plants. In addition, it will also cause water saving.
- Reducing air pollution – The next positive impact from the east monsoon blowing is reducing air pollution and causing air pollution. When a lot of rain falls, steamy air pollution dusts that fly in the air also dissolve and are also washed away by rainwater, so that automatic conditions will cause reduced air pollution around us.
- Reducing the risk of forest fires – When a lot of rain falls, the plants become fertile, do not wither and also do not dry out. This will reduce the risk of causing forest fires that can be caused by dry parts of the plant. The air becomes cool and not hot.
- The Positive Impact of the East Monsoon Wind
The positive effects of the east monsoon wind include the following:
- Farmers can harvest calmly – without any worries about heavy rainfall, and drying out plants can be done freely. The results of drying the plants will be good because it uses enough sunlight.
- Clothes become dry quickly – One of the positive effects of the dry season is felt by housewives who will reap the benefits of fast dry laundry perfectly because of the help of sunlight. This will make housewives happy.
- Fishermen can go to sea calmly – Warm sunny weather will cause fishermen to sail calmly without fear of a dark sky and heavy rain. This affects the productivity of fishermen, so that fishermen will be able to work optimally safely.
Negative Impact
Here are some of the negative effects of monsoons:
- The Negative Impact of the West Monsoon Wind
The negative effects of the west monsoon wind are as follows:
- Increases bloody fever – When the rainy season comes, there will be a lot of puddles that we will find in our environment. When there is a lot of puddle it will trigger many mosquitoes that come out of their nest and look for a place to leave their eggs in the water pools. This will result in the birth of mosquito larvae which will then become mosquitoes that can spread dengue or dengue fever.
- Causes a high risk of landslides – Heavy rain will easily trigger the cause of landslides, especially in hilly areas. This of course will endanger residents who have homes in these hilly areas. This will be supported when there are very few trees in the area, so the risk of this landslide will be even greater.
- Farmer harvests nothing – The rainy season has a positive impact on farmers. But this does not rule out the possibility that farmers will also experience bad things, namely in the form of crop failure. Many farmers face problems related to their harvest when the rainfall falls too much. This can happen because many rice fields are flooded so that many plants will die because of this. In addition, drying of rice will also be difficult because of the lack of sunlight and also the difficulty of aerating rice in the open because of the continuous rain.
- Fishermen become disturbed – Continuous rain will cause fishermen to be disturbed and as a result fishermen will find it hard to go to sea. This is because the sky when the rain will appear dark and heavy rain will also cause risk if fishermen go to sea.
- The Negative Impact of the East Monsoon Wind
The negative effects of the east monsoon wind include the following:
- Many residents have difficulty in obtaining clean water – When the dry season comes, some regions will experience a run out of clean water. This will have a negative impact, especially for residents who live in remote areas where the source of clean water is dry or running out. This will automatically cause people to have difficulty getting clean water to fulfill their daily lives.
- The number of plants that are dry or die due to lack of water.
- Increase the risk of forest fires due to hot weather and dry plant conditions.
Those are some of the positive and negative effects of the monsoon winds. Hopefully it will be useful for all of us.