How far do you agree that the behaviour of the Indian monsoon has been changing due to humanizing landscapes? Discuss. (UPSC 2015)

To a considerable extent, the Indian monsoon is being reshaped by humanised landscapes. Land-use change does not create the monsoon, but it alters local moisture, heat and wind conditions, changing when, where and how rain falls.

• Deforestation and cropland expansion reduce evapotranspiration and surface roughness, weakening moisture recycling and convective rainfall.
• Intensive irrigation in the Indo-Gangetic Plains cools the land by 3°C to 4°C, softening the land-sea thermal contrast that drives monsoon circulation.
• Urbanisation creates heat islands and impervious surfaces, which intensify short, localised downpours and drainage stress.
• Aerosols and pollution dim solar radiation, cool the land and can reduce moderate rainfall while favouring extremes.

However, the monsoon is also influenced by sea surface temperatures, El Niño, and natural variability. Thus, humanised landscapes mainly modify monsoon behaviour at regional and local scales rather than fully controlling it.