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The Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) is a broad-scale wave-like convective phenomena centred on the equator and also the main source of tropical predictability on the monthly time scale.  It is important as it identifies where tropical deep convection interacts with the general atmospheric circulation, and it is observed mainly in a sector spanning the Indian and Pacific oceans.  The feature is typically initiated over the Indian Ocean, and usually advances steadily eastwards, as areas of relatively organised convection, bringing a significant enhancement of rainfall, followed in their wake by much less active convection.  The MJO may be monitored using a combination of lower and upper tropospheric zonal flow patterns and out-going long wave radiation (OLR) or simulations thereof.

The Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) moving eastwards can aid development of tropical storms in the maritime continent and western Pacific. 

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