Climate

Dried up Godavari River at Puntamba, Ahmadnagar district, after a poor monsoon season

Maharashtra experiences a tropical monsoon climate with hot, rainy, and cold weather seasons
and dry summers.[89] The month of March marks the beginning of the summer and the
temperature rises steadily until June. In the central plains, summer temperatures rise to between
40 °C or 104.0 °F and 45 °C or 113.0 °F.May is usually the warmest and January the coldest
month of the year. The winter season lasts until February with lower temperatures occurring in
December and January. On the Deccan plateau that lies on eastern side of the Sahyadri
mountains, the climate is drier, however, dew and hail often occur, depending on seasonal
weather.[90]
The rainfall patterns in the state vary by the topography of different regions.The state can be
divided into four meteorological regions, namely coastal Konkan, Western Maharashtra,
Marathwada, and Vidarbha.[91] The southwest monsoon usually arrives in the last week of June
and lasts till mid-September. Pre-monsoon showers begin towards the middle of June and post-
monsoon rains occasionally occur in October. The highest average monthly rainfall is during July
and August. In the winter season, there may be a little rainfall associated with western winds
over the region. The Konkan coastal area, west of the Sahyadri Mountains receives very heavy
monsoon rains with an annual average of more than 3,000 mm. However, just 150 km to the
east, in the rain shadow of the mountain range, only 500–700 mm/year will fall, and long dry
spells leading to drought are a common occurrence. Maharashtra has many of the 99 Indian
districts identified by the Indian Central water commission as prone to drought. [92] The average
annual rainfall in the state is 1,181 mm and 75 per cent of it is received during the southwest
monsoon from June–to September. However, under the influence of the Bay of Bengal, eastern
Vidarbha receives good rainfall in July, August, and September. [93] Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri,
and Sindhudurg districts receive heavy rains of an average of 2,000 to 2,500 mm or 80 to 100 in
and the hill stations of Matheran and Mahabaleshwar over 5,000 mm or 200 in. Contrariwise, the
rain shadow districts of Nashik, Pune, Ahmednagar, Dhule, Jalgaon, Satara, Sangli, Solapur, and
parts of Kolhapur receive less than 1,000 mm or 40 in annually. In winter, a cool dry spell occurs,
with clear skies, gentle air breeze, and pleasant weather that prevails from October to February,
although the eastern Vidarbha region receives rainfall from the North-East Monsoon. [94]

Flora and fauna

The state has three crucial biogeographic zones, namely Western Ghats, Deccan Plateau, and
the West coast. The Ghats nurture endemic species, Deccan Plateau provides for vast mountain
ranges and grasslands while the coast is home to littoral and swamp forests. Flora of
Maharashtra is heterogeneous in composition. In 2012 the recorded thick forest area in the state
was 61,939 km2 (23,915 sq mi) which was about 20.13 per cent of the state's geographical area.
[95]
 There are three main Public Forestry Institutions (PFIs) in the Maharashtra state:
the Maharashtra Forest Department (MFD), the Forest Development Corporation of Maharashtra
(FDCM) and the Directorate of Social Forestry (SFD).[96] The Maharashtra State Biodiversity
Board, constituted by the Government of Maharashtra in January 2012 under the Biological
Diversity Act, 2002, is the nodal body for the conservation of biodiversity within and outside forest
areas in the State.[97][98]
Maharashtra is ranked second among the Indian states in terms of the recorded forest area.
Recorded Forest Area (RFA) in the state is 61,579 sq mi (159,489 km2) of which 49,546 sq mi
(128,324 km2) is reserved forests, 6,733 sq mi (17,438 km2) is protected forest and 5,300 sq mi
(13,727 km2) is unclassed forests. Based on the interpretation of IRS Resourcesat-2 LISS III
satellite data of the period Oct 2017 to Jan 2018, the State has 8,720.53 sq mi (22,586 km2)
under Very Dense Forest(VDF), 20,572.35 sq mi (53,282 km2) under Moderately Dense Forest
(MDF) and 21,484.68 sq mi (55,645 km2) under Open Forest (OF). According to the Champion
and Seth classification, Maharashtra has five types of forests:[99]

 Southern Tropical Semi-Evergreen forests - These are found in the western ghats at
a height of 400–1000 meters. Anjani, Hirda, Kinjal, and Mango are predominant tree
species found here.
 Southern Tropical Moist Deciduous forests-These are a mix of Moist Teak bearing
forests (Melghat) and Moist Mixed deciduous forests (Vidarbha and Thane district).
Commercially important Teak, Shishum, and bamboo are found here. In addition to
evergreen Teak, some of the other tree species found in this type of forest
include Jambul, Ain, and Shisam.[100]
 Southern Tropical Dry Deciduous forests-these occupy a major part of the state.
Southern Tropical Thorn forests are found in the low rainfall regions
of Marathwada, Vidarbha, Khandesh, and Western Maharashtra. At present, these
forests are heavily degraded. Babul, Bor, and Palas are some of the tree species
found here.
 Littoral and Swamp forests are mainly found in the Creeks of Sindhudurg and Thane
districts of the coastal Konkan region. The state harbours significant mangrove,
coastal and marine biodiversity, with 304 km2 (117 sq mi) of the area under
mangrove cover as per the India State of Forest Report (ISFR) of the Forest survey
India in the coastal districts of the state.