In light of the droughts and subsequent food crises that have plagued the Ethiopia–Sudan region in the course of its history, and especially during the last 3 decades, the author examines both the interannual and intraseasonal variabilities of the July–September rains and compares them to the Indian summer monsoon. Regional rainfall indexes for the region stretching from Eritrea to Lake Victoria are computed using seasonal totals for the period 1901–88. Daily data for 1982–88 are also considered. Though all these regions are only partly affected by the Indian monsoon cross-equatorial flow and although they are separated from India by an extensive dry belt (Red Sea, Somalia, west Arabian Sea), there exists a close association between summer rainfall variations in India and in the western parts of East Africa. An even stronger relationship is revealed between these latter regions and Bombay surface pressure, with as much as 79% of the variance in common during 1953–88. This relationship has been vi... Abstract In light of the droughts and subsequent food crises that have plagued the Ethiopia–Sudan region in the course of its history, and especially during the last 3 decades, the author examines both the interannual and intraseasonal variabilities of the July–September rains and compares them to the Indian summer monsoon. Regional rainfall indexes for the region stretching from Eritrea to Lake Victoria are computed using seasonal totals for the period 1901–88. Daily data for 1982–88 are also considered. Though all these regions are only partly affected by the Indian monsoon cross-equatorial flow and although they are separated from India by an extensive dry belt (Red Sea, Somalia, west Arabian Sea), there exists a close association between summer rainfall variations in India and in the western parts of East Africa. An even stronger relationship is revealed between these latter regions and Bombay surface pressure, with as much as 79% of the variance in common during 1953–88. This relationship has been vi...