Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) Index
What is the Indian Ocean Dipole?
The Indian Ocean Dipole is a climate pattern affecting the Indian Ocean. During a positive phase, warm waters are pushed to the Western part of the Indian Ocean, while cold deep waters are brought up to the surface in the Eastern Indian Ocean. This pattern is reversed during the negative phase of the IOD.
What are we looking at?
The plot tracks the conditions in the Indian Ocean. When the value of the time series is positive (red shading), the warm phase of the IOD is present, and when the value is negative, the cool phase of the IOD is present (blue shading).
Why do we care?
The IOD influences the local weather causing heavy rains and/or droughts in Africa and Australia. The associated sea-level changes can also lead to increased threats of coastal flooding and associated impacts.
Reference: Kumar et al., 2020