Indo-Pacific Warming and the MJO

Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) manifests as eastward moving convective activity across the tropical Indo-Pacific ocean. Since MJO is modulated by ocean temperatures, the rapid warming in the Indo-Pacific oceans during the recent decades may have a potential impact on the MJO variability. Here we show that the variability, propagation and lifespan of MJO has changed significantly during the last 35 years since 1982. We find that these changes in MJO are associated with the increasing sea surface temperatures of the Indo-Pacific warm pool-which are projected to increase further in future.