[Arabian Sea]

The Arabian Sea is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, classified as its largest marginal sea, covering approximately 3.862 million km². Its formation occurred about 50 million years ago following the collision of the Indian subcontinent with Asia. Historically, it has been a crucial marine trade route since the 3rd millennium BCE, with the name "Arabian Sea" becoming prominent after Arabian merchants controlled its trade routes from the 9th century onwards. The sea's mechanism is intrinsically linked to the monsoon system, where predictable seasonal winds, such as the southwest monsoon (May to September), enabled efficient navigation for trade. Geographically, it connects to the Red Sea via the Gulf of Aden and the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb, and to the Persian Gulf through the Gulf of Oman. The Indus River drains into the sea, forming the Indus Fan, and the Lakshadweep atolls are part of the submarine Maldive Ridge. The Arabian Sea is a principal route connecting Europe and Asia, with major Indian ports like Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Mundra Port, and Kochi Port situated on its coast. Recently, the sea has become a persistent hotspot for rising temperatures and marine heatwaves, with sea surface temperatures steadily increasing since the 1980s. This warming is intensifying extreme weather events, making powerful tropical cyclones like Nisarga (2020) and Tauktae (2021) more common. The ecosystem is undergoing a significant shift, marked by a steady increase in winter chlorophyll-a since the 1990s, which is accelerating the creation of oxygen-depleted "dead zones" and threatening fisheries.