Rodwell–Hoskins mechanism is a hypothesis about a climatic teleconnection between the Indian/Asian summer monsoon and the climate of the Mediterranean. It stipulates that ascending air in the monsoon region induces atmospheric circulation features named Rossby waves that expand westward and interact with the mean westerly winds of the midlatitudes, eventually inducing descent of the air. Descending air warms and its humidity decreases, thus resulting in a drier climate during the summer months. The interaction of this atmospheric flow with the topography such as the Atlas and Zagros mountains further modifies the effect.