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Somali Current
current, Indian Ocean
Somali Current, surface current of the western Indian Ocean, caused during the northern summer months by the blowing of the southwest monsoon along the coast of East Africa, moving coastal waters northeastward along with it for about 950 miles (1,500 km), with surface velocities reaching up to 9 miles (14 km) per hour. At longitude 6°–10° N (off Somalia), the northeastward Somali flow turns eastward as the Monsoon Current. With the monsoon’s reversal to the northeast in September, the current begins to weaken until, in the winter, it disappears entirely, to be replaced by a slow southwestward drift.
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