3.1.1. Winds
The surface winds in the study domain are weak during March-April
(Pre-Monsoon) period (Supplementary Figure 1). Strong
westerly/north-westerly winds (>6m S-1)
blows along the southwest coast of India from mid-May to September
(Southwest Monsoon) due to the orographic influence of the western
ghats16. Instead, well organised south-westerly winds
blow over the GoM during the Southwest Monsoon. The wind speed enhances
by May, peaks in June and remains steady till September. By October,
winds weaken and by November change its direction to north-easterly,
which peaks during December-January and then subsides by February. The
surface wind in the GoM is always forceful than its adjacent regions.
One most possible reason could be the wind tunnelling effect by the
orography of the vast Western Ghats mountain ranges situated along the
southwest coast of India and Knuckles mountain ranges in south-central
Sri Lanka (Figure 1).