Climate of India

Define:

a)     Climate:  Climate is defined as the weather conditions prevailing in an area over a long period of time.

b)    Mango Showers-Coastal areas receive rainfall known as ‘Mango

Showers’ during this time of the year that helps in early ripening of mango

c) loo- Hot, dry and dusty winds blowing over the Northern Plains during

this season are known as ‘loo’

d) seasonal variations-Temperature, the monsoon winds and the

amount of rainfall causes seasonal variations.

2. What type of climate does India have? Write its characteristics.

Ans: India has a ‘Tropical Monsoon Climate’. Its characteristics are:

a)     High temperatures throughout the year.

b)    Dry winters in most part of the country.

c)     Great climatic variations where some places are extremely hot while others being very cold.

3. What are the factors influencing the climate of India?

Ans: The geographical factors are:

a)     Location and latitudinal extent: As the tropic of Cancer divideds the country into 2 parts, the southern part experiences high temperature and the northern areas experience low temperatures throughout the year.

b)   Distance from the sea:

·         Coastal areas are neither too hot nor too cold.

·         They enjoy equable climate.  Example, Mumbai.

·        On the other hand, areas which are surrounded by land on all sides experience extreme or continental type of climate. Example,

New Delhi

c)     The Himalayas:

·        Acts as a barrier to the cold winds from Central Asia

·        Causes rainfall by obstructing monsoon winds from crossing the country.

d)    Altitude:

·        A gradual decrease in temperature with increase in the height.

·        Places like Ooty have cool climates though they are situated in peninsular India, and close to equator.

e)    Air pressure conditions and surface winds:

Temperatures and air pressure conditions cause different climatic condition. Eg:  In winter, winds blow from land to sea and are very dry. While in summer, the winds blow from the sea to the land causing heavy rainfall.

4. How does climate influence on the lives of human beings?

Ans: Climate has great influence on the lives of human beings.

Crops – climate of a particular area determines the types of crops that will be grown in that region

For example, tea is grown in high mountains whereas wheat is grown in the plains.

Houses – The shape and style of the house is also influenced by the climate of the region. For example, mountains and hills have houses with sloping roofs; dry lands have houses with flat roof.

Clothes – People who live in high mountains wear woolen clothes almost throughout the year, while those living in the plains and plateau region seldom wear woolen clothes.

6. Fill in the Blanks:

1.     The maximum temperature in Rajasthan- 48˚ C- 50˚ C.

2.     The maximum Temperature in Kashmir- 22 ˚ C

3.     The lowest temperature at Kargil-       -40˚C

4.     The lowest temperature in southern parts of India - 20˚C to 22˚C

5.     The annual rainfall at Mawsynram – 1221 cm

6.     The annual rainfall in Rajasthan – 12 cm

7.     Cold weather season (Winter): Mid December to February    

8.     Hot weather season (Summer): March to May

9.     The South - West monsoon season (Rainy): June to mid September

10.                        The season of retreating monsoon (Cool): October to mid December

7. Write short notes :

1.     Cold Weather Season or Winter Season:

·        main Characteristics of the winter season - Clear sky, fine weather, light

·        Northerly winds, low humidity and low temperature

·        January is the coldest month of this season - temperature ranges between 14°C and 27°C

·        storms known as ‘Western Disturbances’ originate in the Mediterranean Sea and enter the country. These winds cause little rainfall over the Indo – Gangetic Plains and snowfall in the Himalayas

2. Hot Weather Season or Summer Season:

·        main characteristic of this season- Cyclonic storms

·        rise in temperature all over the country in the month of March

·        main temperature is between 30to 35°C

·        May records temperature as high as 45°C.

·        Hot, dry and dusty winds blowing over the Northern Plains during this season are known as ‘loo’.

·        Coastal areas receive rainfall known as ‘Mango Showers’ during this time of the year that helps in early ripening of mangoes.

3.     The South - West Monsoon Season or Rainy Season:

·        The onset of this season is on the Kerala coast

·        During their journey, the South- West Monsoon winds pick enough water from the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal.

·        these winds enter the country and strike the mountains and the hills, causing heavy rainfall

·        India receives three fourths of the total rainfall during this season

·        Since these winds enter from the South West direction of the country they are known as South - West Monsoon winds

·        The temperature decreases 2°C to 6°C on an average from that in the summer season.

·        This season is also termed as pre - monsoon or season of advancing monsoon

4. The North - East Monsoon or Cool Season

·        The chief characteristics of this season - decrease in the humidity levels and clear skies over Northern and Central parts of India

·        Storms or tropical cyclones are formed in the Bay of Bengal that causes rain

·        Parts of peninsular India falls under the rain shadow region of the Western Ghats during summer season.

·        This rain shadow region receives rainfall from North - East Retreating Monsoon winds.

·        Coastal areas such as the Ganga - Brahmaputra delta, Odisha, Andhra

Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu, receive good amount of rainfall during this season.

·        Tropical cyclones formed in the Bay of Bengal are a great threat to life and property as these are accompanied by surface winds and thunderstorms.

·        The temperature during the day falls sharply all over the country.

·        The average temperature in most parts of the country varies between 25°C and 30°C.

5.Anamalous Rainfall Regions:

·        the entire country receives rainfall from the South- West monsoon winds

except three regions which receive rainfall from North- East monsoon winds

because of Westerlies resulting out of the atmospheric disturbances in the

Mediterranean Region;      Tamil Nadu,        Assam

·        Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Western parts of Uttar Pradesh.

8. What is the importance of Monsoon?

Ans: A large number of Indian people depend on agriculture for their livelihood. Thus, monsoon rains act as a unifying factor and yield good crops for them.

India is an agricultural country. Its economy is greatly influenced by monsoon

that results in adequate amount of crop production and facilitates its export.

The monsoon season prevails in the country for a short duration. This leads to

scarcity of water at certain times. Sudden heavy downpour may cause floods in

the country. Again, little or no rainfall may lead to droughts. Thus, management

of monsoon water by constructing dams, irrigation canals, etc. is important in our country.

  

9. Distribution of Rainfall in India:

Region	Amount of Rainfall (cm)	Areas in the country
Very high rainfall	Above 200	Western coastal plain, Western slope of Western Ghats, and most of the North Eastern States.
High rainfall	100 – 200	Eastern slopes of Western Ghats, major parts of Northern Plains, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Andra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Eastern coastal Plain
Low rainfall	50 - 100	Larger parts of Gujarat, Maharashtra, some parts of Madhya Pradesh, Andra Pradesh, Karnataka, Eastern Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana and parts of Uttar Pradesh
Very low rainfall	Below 50	Western Punjab, Kuchchh, Jammu and Kashmir, South Punjab