Spatial and temporal variations in Australo‐Indonesian region cloudiness

Spatial and temporal variations in cloudiness of the Australo‐Indonesian region are examined with the help of a newly created cloudiness data set, based on GMS‐IR imagery. As represented by the first Varimax rotated principal component pattern of the Australo‐Indonesian region cloudiness, the band of tropical cloudiness is dominated by a clearly defined eastward cluster propagation, as well as a more complicated 40–50‐day oscillation pattern. Details of these phenomena are discussed.