In Professor Sulochana Gadgil's passing, India has lost a scientific giant, a fierce intellect, and a compassionate soul, remembers Dr Madhavan Nair Rajeevan.
It is with deep sorrow and a profound sense of loss that we mark the passing of Professor Sulochana Gadgil, who left us on July 25, 2025, at the age of 81 after a prolonged illness.
A towering figure in Indian science, Professor Gadgil was one of the world's foremost experts on the monsoon and a pioneer in atmospheric and oceanic sciences.
Her legacy will continue to inspire generations of scientists, environmentalists, and thinkers in India and across the world.
Professor Gadgil's career, spanning nearly five decades, was devoted to understanding the most vital and complex phenomenon governing India's climate and economy -- the Indian summer monsoon.
In doing so, she transformed how we study, model, and respond to climate variability, while always remaining grounded in the real-world applications of her research, particularly for rain-fed farming systems.
Born in 1944, Sulochana Gadgil began her academic journey with an MSc in Mathematics from the University of Pune.
Her sharp intellect and curiosity soon took her to Harvard University, where she earned a PhD in Applied Mathematics.
This was followed by post-doctoral work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology under the mentorship of the legendary meteorologist Professor Jule Charney.
Armed with this rigorous training and a deep scientific spirit, she returned to India and joined the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, in 1973.
At IISc, Professor Gadgil played a foundational role in establishing the Centre for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (CAOS), which soon became a premier hub for climate research in India.
Over the years, she nurtured a vibrant community of students and researchers, blending intellectual rigor with mentorship grounded in integrity, compassion, and inclusivity.
Her scientific contributions were as wide-ranging as they were profound.
In a seminal early paper, she reported the crucial role of the northward propagation of monsoon cloud bands over the equatorial Indian Ocean that causes active and break phases of the Indian monsoon.
On the theory of Monsoons, she challenged the long-held belief that the monsoon was merely a giant land-sea breeze, arguing instead that it is part of a larger, planetary-scale system (Inter-tropical convergence zone, ITCZ) whose seasonal migration is seen globally.
She was also one of the first to use satellite-derived data to study tropical convection, identifying a sea surface temperature (SST) threshold of about 28°C necessary for the formation of organised convection over the Indian Ocean.
Her work linking monsoon variability not just to El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) but also to the Equatorial Indian Ocean Oscillation (EQUINOO) expanded the theoretical framework of monsoon predictability and opened new frontiers in understanding of monsoon variability.
What set Professor Gadgil apart was not only her deep theoretical insight but also her unwavering commitment to bridging science and society.
She recognised early on that monsoon variability had significant implications for agriculture and livelihoods.
In the absence of quantitative economic assessments, she took it upon herself to show that despite a declining share of agriculture in GDP over the decades, drought years continued to inflict a GDP loss of 2% to 5%. Her collaborations with economists, ecologists, and agricultural scientists led to the development of rainfall-adaptive farming strategies aimed at maximising long-term returns and minimizing risks for farmers in rain-fed regions.
She was deeply committed to interdisciplinary and field-based research.
Her ability to integrate data and insights from multiple domains was extraordinary, and her fieldwork among farmers gave her a unique understanding of the real-world implications of climate science.
She believed firmly that research must have relevance and reach beyond the laboratory -- a belief she practiced throughout her life.
Professor Sulochana Gadgil also played a central role in many national science programmes.
She was a key architect of the Indian Climate Research Programme (ICRP), leading major observational campaigns over the Bay of Bengal (BOBMEX), the Arabian Sea (ARMEX), and the monsoon heartland (CTCZ).
Her efforts laid the groundwork for several long-term collaborations across Indian and foreign scientific institutions.
She had very active research collaborations with many top climate scientists from the reputed academic institutions in the US and UK.
She was a Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy (INSA), the Indian Academy of Sciences (IASc), and the Indian Meteorological Society.
Her work earned her numerous accolades, including the Norman Borlaug Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Ministry of Earth Sciences -- a testament to the breadth and impact of her contributions.
Her ability to communicate science to the public -- be it through lectures, interviews, or writings -- was both elegant and accessible.
She wrote prolifically, and in one of her personal essays, she reflected with warmth and wit on the formative experiences that shaped her path in science.
Professor Sulochana Gadgil was not only a remarkable scientist but also a generous mentor and a cherished friend to many.
Her commitment to research ethics, justice, and equity was unwavering. Personally, I had the great privilege of working with her on several seminal papers on monsoon prediction -- collaborations that remain among the most fulfilling in my scientific life.
In her passing, India has lost a scientific giant, a fierce intellect, and a compassionate soul.
But her legacy -- of curiosity, clarity, and conscience -- endures.
May her life continue to guide us, like the monsoon winds she so deeply understood.
Dr Rajeevan Madhavan Nair, one of India's most distinguished climate scientists, served as Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff