The book opens with an overview of ISV and observations from an historical perspective. Successive chapters then deal with the role of ISV in monsoon variability in the South Asian, East Asian and South American monsoon regions, in North America and in the oceans. Later chapters deal with modeling ISV in the atmosphere and oceans, and the connection between the Madden and Julian Oscillation (MJO). The authors consider how knowledge of ISV may be harnessed into improving long range forecasts of severe weather, and a new chapter on substantial new development of ISV research is added.