Why it is in news?

• Scientists have developed a new tool for objectively defining the onset and demise of the summer monsoon — a colossal weather system that affects millions of people annually. 

Who did this study?

• The researchers from Florida State University in the U.S. developed a method that uses rainfall rates to mark the span of the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) at any given location throughout the affected region.
• For generations, scientists have struggled to produce a model for reliably defining the duration of the monsoon.
• No existing system has allowed researchers to reliably define the parameters of the season at this fine a scale, researchers said. 

No objective benchmark

• The lack of a clear, granular and objective benchmark for ISM onset and demise for all areas of the country has been a long-time source of consternation for people, researchers said.
• In some parts of the country, the torrents of rain that characterise monsoon season account for more than 90% of the total annual precipitation, they said.
• Researchers said many rhythms of Indian political and agricultural life can be destabilised by dubious or false claims of monsoon onset.
• That leads to tremendous amounts of frustration and confusion for the general public and for the people who are trying to monitor the monsoon because nobody has really gotten down to do it at a granular scale.
• The new system, which ties the onset of the monsoon to location-specific rainfall thresholds, can work to allay that frustration.