Mondo Knows Facts
The Indian Ocean is the warmest major ocean basin on Earth
Covering roughly twenty per cent of Earth water surface, the Indian Ocean drives global monsoon climate.
Bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west, and Australia to the east, the ocean's warm tropical waters limit plankton growth, resulting in clear blue water in many areas. Seasonal land-sea temperature differences drive powerful monsoon wind shifts that bring heavy seasonal rainfall across South and Southeast Asia.
Where this comes from
Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.
Go further
More facts like this
The Bay of Bengal is the largest water body designated as a bayCovering over 2.1 million square kilometres, the Bay of Bengal forms the northeastern Indian Ocean.Antarctica is technically the largest desert on EarthAntarctica receives an average of less than 200 millimetres of precipitation each year along its coast and far less inland.The Sahara is the largest hot desert in the worldSpanning over nine million square kilometres, the Sahara covers much of North Africa.The Drake Passage is renowned for having the roughest ocean watersConnecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans between South America and Antarctica, winds blow unimpeded.The Pacific Ocean covers more area than all landmasses combinedSpanning over 165 million square kilometres, the Pacific Ocean covers one third of Earth surface.The Atlantic Ocean is the saltiest of Earth major ocean basinsHigh atmospheric evaporation and limited freshwater runoff give the Atlantic elevated salt levels.
Tags: indian ocean, oceans, monsoon, climate
The Indian Ocean is the warmest major ocean basin on Earth: the short answers
- Where does this come from, and can I check it?
- Covering roughly twenty per cent of Earth water surface, the Indian Ocean drives global monsoon climate. The figure is taken from National Geographic, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
- Is this really a world geography fact?
- Yes. It sits on the World Geography shelf, one of 1,090 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
- What else can I read about it?
- The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.