INDIA- CLIMATE

Weather & Climate WEATHER: The daily

state of atmosphere. It describes the temperature, wind speed & direction, and the amount of precipitation in a place on a particular day.

CLIMATE: The average weather in a place over more than 30 yrs.

Latitude Altitude Distance from the sea Relief(mountains & hills) Atmospheric pressure & wind Upper air current

THE CLIMATE OF INDIA India experiences 4

major seasons that follow each other in cycle.

* the cold weather season

* the hot weather season

* the advancing monsoon season

* the retreating monsoon season

THE COLD WEATHER SEASON WINTER

It falls between the month of December & February.

Winter is more severe in North India than it sis in South India.

The coastal hardly experiences winter. Widespread snowfall occurs in Himalayan

region.

THE HOT WEATHER SEASON SUMMER

It extends from March to May in India. The Sun’s ray falls vertically in this region,

causing sharp increase in temperature. The temperature increases from south to

north. E.g. Average temperature of Deccan Plateau

= 38 degree Celsius, Northern Plains= 41-43 degree Celsius & in north- western part of Rajasthan , in Thar , it is 55 degree at times.

THE SOUTH-WEST MONSOON SEASON

The South-west monsoon season or the advancing monsoon season lasts from June to September.

Temperatures are very high & so low pressure over Northern Plains intensifies.

Winds originating from a high pressure area centred over the southern Indian Ocean are drawn to the low pressure area.

The moisture laden winds cross the Equator & approach the Indian landmass from the south- west.

As it hits the Landmass, the south-west monsoon breaks into 2 branches : the Arabian Sea branch and Bay of Bengal branch.

The Arabian Sea branch gives heavy rainfall to the coastal areas of Kerala, Karnataka & Maharashtra.

The Bay of Bengal branch causes heavy rainfall in the eastern & north-eastern States of India.

Mawsynram in Meghalaya receives the highest rainfall in India.

THE NORTH- EAST MONSOON/ RETREATING MONSOON SEASON

The retreating season spreads over October & November.

The south-east monsoon lose their command over Indian subcontinent & gradually begin to retreat.

The dry wind pass over Bay of Bengal, gather moisture & reach southern India.

It brings heavy rainfall to Tamil Nadu and parts of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka & Kerala.