The annual cycle of outgoing longwave radiation (OLR), clouds, precipitation and sea level pressure is studied from satellite and station data in the tropical Indian and Pacific sectors. A region of heavy convection, termed the tropical convective maximum, moves from north to south and west to cast in the Indian and Pacific sectors as the mean annual cycle proceeds from northern summer to northern winter. During its return excursion northwestward from northern winter to northern summer in the Indian sector, it is not as strong as in the preceding half of the annual cycle. To study interannual fluctuations of the annual cycle in these regions, Indian monsoon rainfall is chosen as an indicator of precipitation and convection in the summer monsoon region. Relatively strong and weak years of monsoon rainfall are selected and used as a starting point to follow the evolution of the annual cycle in the two sets of years. More than two-thirds of the monsoon seasons since 1900 are classified as either rel... Abstract The annual cycle of outgoing longwave radiation (OLR), clouds, precipitation and sea level pressure is studied from satellite and station data in the tropical Indian and Pacific sectors. A region of heavy convection, termed the tropical convective maximum, moves from north to south and west to cast in the Indian and Pacific sectors as the mean annual cycle proceeds from northern summer to northern winter. During its return excursion northwestward from northern winter to northern summer in the Indian sector, it is not as strong as in the preceding half of the annual cycle. To study interannual fluctuations of the annual cycle in these regions, Indian monsoon rainfall is chosen as an indicator of precipitation and convection in the summer monsoon region. Relatively strong and weak years of monsoon rainfall are selected and used as a starting point to follow the evolution of the annual cycle in the two sets of years. More than two-thirds of the monsoon seasons since 1900 are classified as either rel...