The monsoon season in India has in the last 15 years recovered from a 50-year dry spell, during which the northern and central parts of the country received relatively lesser rain.

The findings showed that since 2002, the drying trend has given way to a much wetter pattern, with stronger monsoon supplying much-needed rain -- along with powerful, damaging floods -- to the populous north central region.

A shift in India's land and sea temperatures may partially explain this increase in monsoon rainfall, the researchers said.

"Climatologically, India went through a sudden, drastic warming, while the Indian Ocean which used to be warm, all of a sudden slowed its warming," said Chien Wang, a senior research scientist at MIT.

"This may have been from a combination of natural variability and anthropogenic influences, and we're still trying to get to the bottom of the physical processes that caused this reversal," Wang added.

Starting in 2002, nearly the entire Indian subcontinent has experienced very strong warming, reaching between 0.1 and 1 degree Celsius per year. Meanwhile, a rise in temperatures over the Indian Ocean has slowed significantly.

This sharp gradient in temperatures - high over land, and low over surrounding waters -- is a perfect recipe for whipping up stronger monsoon, Wang said.