The Asian Monsoon Years (AMY 2007-2012) is a cross-cutting initiative as part of the International Monsoon Study (IMS), a coordinated observation and modeling effort under the leadership of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP). The AMY stems from grass-root scientific and societal imperatives and includes about two dozen national and multi-national research projects in the Asian monsoon regions. It has been endorsed by the Joint Scientific Committee (JSC) of the WCRP as well as the WCRP Climate Variability and Predictability (CLIVAR) Project and the Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment (GEWEX). It has also been identified as a cross-cutting weather and climate activity by WMO World Weather Research Programme (WWRP) Monsoon Panel in the draft of WWRP Strategic Plan.