Figure 1: The approximate global monsoon precipitation domain is here defined where the local summer-minus-winter precipitation rateexceeds 2.5 mm/day and the local summer precipitation exceeds 55 % of the annual total (in red). During any individual year, it is possiblefor the monsoon to affect a broader area than shown here. Summer denotes May through September for the northern hemisphereand November through March for the southern hemisphere. The dry regions, where the local summer precipitation is less than 1 mm/day are hatched, and the 3000m height contour surrounding Tibetan Plateau is shaded. The merged Global Precipitation ClimatologyProject/Climate Prediction Center Merged Analysis of Precipitation precipitation data were used. These observations are based on raingauge data over land and satellite data over the oceans. The regional monsoons are the North American monsoon (NAM), North Africanmonsoon (NAF), Indian monsoon (IND), East Asian monsoon (EAS), Western North Pacific monsoon (WNP), South American monsoon(SAM), South African monsoon (SAF), and the Australian monsoon (AUS). This figure kindly provided by Prof. Bin Wang.