Climate of India

Dr. Jajnaseni Rout

• Climate refers to the sum total of weather conditions and
variations over a large area for a long period of time
(more than thirty years)

• Weather refers to the state of the atmosphere over an

area at any point of time.

• The elements of weather and climate are the same, i.e.

temperature, atmospheric pressure, wind, humidity and
precipitation.

• The weather conditions fluctuate very often even within a

day.
• On the basis of the generalized monthly atmospheric
conditions, the year is divided into seasons such as winter,
summer, or rainy seasons. South Asia has varied climatic
conditions. A large part of south Asia has tropical monsoon
climate.

• Very hot and very cold regions as well as regions with very
heavy rainfall and very scanty rainfall.
• The climate has been influenced by its position, size and
relief features.

• Monsoon winds are the main factors that determine the

climate of this region.
• India’s climate is characterized as “tropical monsoon” which
indicating the dominant influence of tropical location and the
monsoon winds.
 FACTORS AFFECTING INDIAN CLIMATE

RELATED TO LOCATION RELATED TO AIR

& RELIEF PRESSURE & WIND
1. Latitude:
• The places which are closer to equator have high
temperature.
• As one moves towards the poles temperature decreases.
• As our country, India is located in Northern hemisphere
closer to equator at 8°4¢ and 23½° Tropic of Cancer
passes through the central part of India.
• So in south of this latitude we find tropical climate and
towards the north we find sub-tropical climate.
• For example, Andhra Pradesh would be hotter than
Haryana.
• Broadly speaking parts lying south of the Tropic of Cancer
receive more solar heat than those lying north of it.
2. Altitude:
• It means the height above the average sea level.
• The atmosphere becomes less dense and we feel
breathlessness as we go higher from the earth surface
and thus the temperature also decreases with the height.
• For example, the cities located on the hills are cooler like
Shimla whereas the cities lying in the plains will have hot
climate like Ludhiana.
 LATITUDE

FACTORS

• Altitude

EQUATORIAL REGION
•Distance from
Sea
•The
Himalayan Mt.
•Distribution of
Land & water
ALTITUDE FACTORS
• Latitude
3. Relief:
• The relief features of the Himalayas, western ghat and the
hills of the purvachal, affect the distribution of rainfall and
temperature in the country.
• The Himalayas check the southwest penetration of the cold
and dry polar air during winter season.
RELIEF
FACTORS

Receives high
rainfall

Receives low
rainfall
4. Distance from the sea:
• The southern half of India is surrounded by sea from
three sides: the Arabian Sea in the west, the Bay of
Bengal in the east and the Indian Ocean in the south.
• Due to moderating influence of the sea this region is
neither hot in summer nor very cold in winter.
• For example the area of North India which is far away
from the sea has extreme type of climate and the area of
south India which is nearer to the sea has equable type of
climate.
 DISTANCE FROM SEA

FACTORS
5. Mountain Ranges:
• Mountain ranges also affect the climate of any region to
a great extent.
• The Himalaya Mountain is located in the northern part of
our country with an average height of 6000m.
• It protects our country from cold winds of Central Asia.
• On the other hand, they check rain bearing South-West
Monsoon winds and compel them to shed their moisture
in India.
• Similarly, Western Ghats force rain bearing winds to cause
heavy rain fall on the Western slopes of the Western
Ghats.
FACTORS
FACTORS

HIGH PRESSURE
IN WINTER
• The summer monsoon brings in moisture from the Indian
Ocean and produces a tremendous amount of rain.
• The moisture from winter monsoons are largely blocked
by the Himalayas
 MONSOON
• The word monsoon is derived from the Arabic word ‘Mausim’
which means season.
• Monsoon refers to the seasonal reversal in the wind direction
during a year.
• During summer, the interior parts of North Indian Plains
covering Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, and Western Uttar
Pradesh are intensely hot.
• The average maximum temperature is above 33°C in the
month of May at Delhi and Jodhpur.
• Such high temperature heats up the air of that region.
• Hot air rises, low pressure area is created under it. This low
pressure is also known as monsoonal trough.
• It lies between Jaisalmer in the west and Balasore in Odisha
in the East.
• On the other hand temperature over Indian Ocean is
relatively low, as water needs more time to get heated as
compared to land.
• So a relatively high pressure region is created over the sea.
• Thus, there is a difference of temperature and resultant
pressure over North Central Indian Plains and Indian Ocean.
• Due to this difference, air from high pressure region of the sea
starts moving towards the low pressure region of North India.
• Thus, by mid June the general movement of air is from
equatorial region of Indian Ocean to the Indian subcontinent
and the direction of these winds in general is from South- West
to North-East.
• This direction is exactly opposite to that of the trade winds
(North – East to South-West) prevailing during winter in India.
• This complete reversal of wind direction from North-East to
South West and vice-versa is known as monsoons.
• These winds originate over warm seas. Therefore, they
contain a lot of moisture.
• When these moisture laden winds move over the Indian sub-
continent they cause wide spread rain throughout India and
from June to September 80% to 90% of the total rainfall in
India is confined to these four months only.
Characteristics of the Monsoon
1. Monsoons are not steady winds. They are irregular in
nature affected by different atmospheric conditions i.e. due to
regional climatic conditions.
• Sometimes monsoon early or some times late.
2. Monsoons are not equally distributed. Coastal areas like
Kerala West Bengal and Odisha receive heavy rain fall, whereas
interior regions like Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, receive less
rainfall.
3. When monsoon arrives, it gives heavy rainfall which
continues for several days.
• This is known as ‘burst of monsoon’. This occurs mainly at
Kerala coast where it reaches first.
 INDIAN WEATHER
• The retreat of the sun’s vertical rays across the country and the
monsoon wind system divide Indian weather into a summer
season which from mid-march to mid-september.
• The winter season extending from mid-september to mid-march.
• The summer season divided into hot-dry weather from mid-march
to mid-june and hot-wet weather from mid-june to mid-september.
• The winter season divided into season of retreating monsoons
from mid-september to mid-december and cool dry weather from
Mid-december to mid-march.
1. Hot dry weather
• Sun’s vertical rays towards north, the hot dry weather sets in the
peninsular region south of satpura range heat up with mean
maximum temperature of 40 degree C for the month of April.
• The whole country experiences high mean temperature of 32 degree
C by the middle of May.
• Some part Northwestern and central India is about above 45 ,some
record temp exceeding 47 during May & june.
• In June and July some parts is the hottest but in Peninsula the temp
decline in the end of the May.
• Places situated at higher elevation have low temp in the month of
July which is hottest month in the year.
Example: Srinagar, height 1893 mtr, temp 24.4, Shillong height 1961
mtr, temp 21.1
• Early rains bring down the temp in the west coast, Karnataka
platuea , West Bengal,Odisha and Bihar.
• The hot Dry weather is marked by weak winds and dryness, but
some exception, the Tornado like dust strum of Panjam and
Hariyana, the Andhis of UP, Kalbaisakhis of WB involving strong
conventional movement associated with divergence related to
westerly Jet stream or westerly disturbances in the upper
troposphere cause precipitation.
• These stroms are short lived but have heavy rainfall with equally
winds, thunders,lightning,hail and dangerous.
• The Norwesters, WB originate over the Chhotnagapur plateau and
carried eastward by westerly winds.
• It bring 50cm rainfall in Assam and 10cm in WB and Odisha which
benefit greatly for rice and jute.
• Thunderstorms cause to 25cm rainfall in the coast of Kerala and
Karnataka, 10cm in south India.
• This rains called cherry blossom in Karnataka which is beneficial
for coffee plantation and mango.
• Hot dry westerly wind called loos blowing frequently during may
and june in the afternoon of northwestern parts of the india which
desiccate plants and dry up surface moisture. Several causalities
due to sunstroke and dehydration .
• Low rainfall during the preceding monsoon makes drought
situations during this season.
2. Hot wet weather
• When temp rises a thermal low begins to develop over Rajasthan,
very intense by the end of May.
• When a trough continuing eastward also embarces the Ganga
plane.
• The atmospheric pressure in this belt decreasing till the first
week of the july.
• The ITC has been moving northwards during this period and
moist equatorial air drawn from the indian ocean particularly
from the anti cyclone located around Malagasy.
• The burst of the southwest monsoon caused sudden change in the
upper troposphere, air stream from westerly to easterly caused
sudden withdrawal of the quasi-permanent winter and hot weather
stations of the westerly jet stream from south of the Himalaya to
north of Tianshan, China.
• A quasi-permanent upper air trough move from a position over the
Bay of Bengal between Srilanka and the Kraisthmus (Thailand) to a
summer station over northwestern India and Pakistan.
• This upper air low joins with thermal low below and pulls the ITC
northwards.
• The ITC reaches Kerala coast, Andaman Nicobar island by end of
May and burst of the southwest monsoon. Later it is towards north.
• This monsoon enter India by two currents blowing from Bay of
Bengal and Arabian sea.
• From Bay of Bengal side it continues northeast ward causing
heavy rainfall in Brahmaputra and Surma Valley.
• Cherrapunji situated on southern of Meghalaya plateau have
rainfall 1070cm.
• The hills of the purbachal and Himalayas force this currents to
take a northwesterly course towards the thermal low over
northwestern India and Pakistan.
• This current is the source of rainfall I the great plane and it
increase towards Himalayas foothills and coast of WB and
Odisha.
Climate of India

Dr. Jajnaseni Rout

3. The Retreating Monsoon Weather
• From mid-september to mid-december is a period of unsettled
weather conditions transitional between the hot wet weather and
the cool-dry weather.
• It is a season when the south –west monsoon are retreating,
yielding place to the north-east monsoons.
• The south-west monsoons retreat gradually, earlier in the north,
where September has a hot and sticky weather with a distinct rise
in temperature which comes down by the end of october.
• Heavy convectional or cyclonic rains take place in most places
before the cool dry weather sets in.
• The thunderstorm in october may be related to troughs in the
upper troposhere westerlies or in the westerly jet stream.
• In south, some rainfall takes place due to thunderstroms but more
amount is received from the wider disturbances in which an
easterly depression from the bay of bengal moves across the
peninsula.
• The retreating monsoon weather is also marked characteristically
by a great frequency of tropical cyclones in the Arabian sea and the
Bay of Bengal, those from the latter taking a recurved maritime
course and causing terrible havoc in the densely populated deltaic
lands.
• Heavy rains from these easterly disturbances are associated with
upper air divergence which may come from upper air westerly
waves.
• The violent tropical cyclones which are also common in the Bay of
Bengal and the Arabian sea, seem to form in a similar manner but
have very marked pressure gradients and destructive surface winds
almost parallel to the isobar around the eye of the storm.
• These cyclones are to the hurricanes and typhoons of the other
sub-tropical areas in the world. They cause widespread
destruction in their tracks along the sea coasts.
• The temperature during this season are uniformly high, about
26D.C in the beginning of october but by november they begin to
decline, more sharply in the north.
• And a cool weather sets in by december with temperature around
16D. C in the north and north-west, 20D. C in the peninsular
interior and 26D. C along the coasts.
4. The Cool-Dry Weather
• The indian cool weather is generally characterized by low temp.,
light northerly winds, clear sky and low humidity. The temp. are
relatively higher in the south and length of the cool weather is
shorter in north.
• January is the coldest month in the Punjab plain with temp. 12.5dc
and southern Tamilnadu (25.5dc).In the northern part the weather
becomes colder towards north and northwest over a wide area in
central and eastern India.
• Towards south the peninsula is warmer condition, the coastal belt
experiences the highest mean temp. the Karnataka plateau and
western hat have lower temp. during the season due to higher
latitude.
Trewartha’s climatic region
1.Tropical rain forest (Am)
• This type of climate is found in the west coastal plain, western ghat
and some parts of Assam. The temp. are high (18.2dc) even during
winter, April and May the hottest month ( 29dc)
• Because of heavy rainfall and squally winds, the period of
southwest monsoon is quite cool. The avg. annual rainfall more
than 200cm.
• The southwest monsoon comes here earlier and last longer than
other parts. Dense forest and Tea, coffee and spices
2. Tropical Savanna (Aw)
• Most of the Peninsula except lee side of western ghat . A long dry
weather lasting trough winter and early summer and high temps
(above 18.2dc) during the winter season, (32dc) in summer.
• Tamilnadu received more rainfall during the winter, the natural
vegetation is savanna, variety of crops grown with or without
irrigation.
3. Tropical Semi Arid Steppe (BS)
• The rain shadow belt from central Maharashtra to TN, lee side of
western ghat, Cardamom hills have low and uncertain rainfall
varying from 38.1 to 76.2cm and high temp. varying from 20d to
23.8dc for December and 32.8dc in May.
• Rainfall amount is not only low but very erratic which result
draught and crop failure . The climate is suitable only for dry
farming and livestock rearing
4. Tropical and Sub-Tropical Steppe (BSh)
• This type of climate occurs over a broad crescent from Punjab
to Kutch between the Thar desert to its west and more humid
climate of the Ganga plane, the peninsula to its east and south
respectively.
• The annual rainfall varies 30.5 to 63.5 cm and temp varies
from 12 for January and 35 in June.
• The annual rainfall is not only low but it is highly erratic, the
monsoon failing in several years
• Draught and scarcity conditions common feature of this area
• Dry farming-Jowar and Bazra, cattle and sheep rearing
5. Tropical desert (BWh)
• The western parts of barmer, jaisalmir and bikaner of Rajasthan
and a part of Kutch form the sandy waste of the thar which
experience a tropical desert climate.
• The rain fall is scanty, annual average 30.5cm, some parts
12.7cm
• The rain happen in the form of cloud-burst taking place most in
July-september when the south west monsoon penetrate the
region
• During summer days are very hot and uncomfortable, sand
storms in the afternoon and hot and dry wind blow throughout
the day.
• Ganganagar has maximum temp 50 in May and June, the
average temp above 34.5, temp decreases towards north in
winter which is quite cold in Rajasthan. Gabganagar has mean
temp 11.6 in January.
• Temp below freezing point have been recorded at the time of
cold waves and the annual range of temp is over 20.
• Dry farming is practice in this area and sheep rasing
6. Humid sub tropical with dry winters (CWa)
• South of the Himalays, east of the tropical and subtropical
steppe and north of the tropical savanna running in a long belt
from Punjab to Assam.
• With a southwest ward extension into Rajsthan, east of the
Arravali range has this type of climate.
• The annual rainfall varies from 63.5 to over 254cm, during
southwest monsoon more.
• The amount increase towards east and north where the
atmopshere also remain more humid throughout the year.
• Winters are dry, expect little rain receive from the westerly
depression, more amount in the western part.
• Winters are mildly to severely cold and summer extremely hot
in the western part but quite mild in the east.
• The difference between rainfall and temp the west and east
have great difference in soil and crop.
7. Mountain climate (H)
• The himalaya and Karakoram range (6000 mtr) have snow
covered throughout the year.
• This climate with sharp contrast between the temp of the
sunny and shady slopes, high diurnal range of temp and high
variability of rainfall because of altitude and slope.
• The trans-himalaya region , ladakh, the south west monsoon
fails to reach, has a dry and cold climate and a sparse and
stunted vegetation.
• Leh situated at 3522 m height in the indus valley, has mean
temp -7.4 for January and lowest recorded -28.3
• The mean temp for july is 17.2 and gets rainfall only 8.1cm.
• Many streams flow for only few hours when the ice melts in
summer.
• In Himalaya, the southern slope are protected from cold
northerly winds and accessible to the southwest monsoon, the
climate is slightly better.
• Heavier rainfall is receive on the slopes with good exposer to
south at a height of 1067-2286 mtr.
• The sheltered valley and higher slope receive less rainfall
increases towards east, Srinagar receive 66cm, Shimla 155cm,
22.5cm Mussoorie and Darjeeling 321ccm.