CLIMATE

03. ELEMENTS OF WEATHER AND CLIMATE

CLIMATE
Climate refers
WEATHER
to the sum of Weather refers

01 weather conditions
and variation for 02 to the state
of the atmosphere
a long time (more over an area at
than thirty years). any point of time. a. Temperature b. Atmosphere pressure c. Wind d. Humidity e. Precipitation

4. On the basis of monthly atmospheric conditions, the year is divided into seasons such as winter, summer, rainy, spring and autumn season.

05. MONSOON 06. FACTORS AFFECTING INDIA’S CLIMATE

The word Monsoon refers

monsoon The climate of
to the seasonal
is derived from India is
reversal in the
the Arabic word described as the a. Latitude b. Altitude c. Air pressure and surface wind d. Jet Stream e. Westerly Cyclonic Disturbance
wind direction
Mausim means monsoon type.
during a year.
season. • Tropic of Cancer passes • The temperature • The climate and weather conditions in India are • Jet streams are a narrow • The western cyclonic disturbances are
through the middle of declined as we affected by the belt of high altitude weather phenomena of the winter months
the country from the travelled through a. Pressure and surface winds (above 12000m) westerly brought in by the westerly flow winds from
Rann of Kuchchh in places above the b. Upper air circulation in the troposphere. the Mediterranean region.
07. THE INDIAN MONSOON the west to Mizoram sea level. c. Western cyclonic disturbance • Their speed varies from • They usually influence the weather in the
in the east. • There is a decrease d. Tropical cyclones about 110 km/h in north and northwestern regions of India.
To understand the mechanism of monsoon, some important facts are- • The area lying south of 10 Celsius for summer to 180 km/h in winter.
• The differential heating and cooling of land and water creates low of the Tropic of every 166m rise • These jet streams are located approximately
pressure on the landmass while the sea around experiences high Cancer belongs to in the height. towards 27o -30oN latitude.
pressure. the tropical area of • The Himalayas • In summer the subtropical westerly jet
• The shift of the position of Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) in the tropical region prevent the cold stream moves north of the Himalayas with the
summer over the Ganga plains. and the area north winds from apparent movement of the sun.
• The presence of the high-pressure area east of Madagascar is approx. of the Tropic of Central Asia from • An easterly jet stream blows over peninsular India,
20oS towards the Indian Ocean. Cancer is entering the approx. over 14oN during the summer.
• The Tibetan plateau gets intensively heated during summer which considered a sub-continent.
results in strong vertical air currents. sub-tropical region.
• The Inter Tropical Conversion Zone (ITCZ) is a breakthrough of low
pressure in equatorial latitudes.
08. THE ONSET OF THE MONSOON AND WITHDRAWAL
• However, after certain intervals, there is a reversal in the pressure 09. THE SEASONS
region. This periodic change is called the Southern Oscillation of SO.
• In India duration of the monsoon is generally from the months of June to
• El Nino is a phenomenon in which every 2 to 5 years a warm ocean
mid-September. India experience four different season –
current flows past the Peruvian Coast.
• When the monsoon arrives, the intensity of the rainfall increases
The change in the pressure condition is connected to the El Nino
which continues for several days. This is known as the ‘burst’ of the monsoon. • The cold weather season (winter)
and is referred to as ENSO.
Note: El Nino is a Spanish word that means the child referring to
• By the first week of June, monsoon arrives in Kerala. It is then divided into • The hot weather season (summer)
two branches, the Bay of Bengal branch and the Arabian Sea branch.
the time of birth of Jesus Christ.
• The Arabian Sea branch reaches Mumbai in the second week of June.
• The advancing monsoon (rainy season)
The Bay of Bengal branch reaches Assam in the first week of June. • The retreating monsoon (the transition season)
• Mountains in the region lead to the deflection of monsoon winds over
the north Indian plains.
• By mid-June, the monsoon strikes the central parts of the country and
Saurashtra and Kutch.
• Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Eastern Rajasthan receive rainfall by
the first week of July.
 a. Cold weather Season b. Hot weather Season c. The Advancing Monsoon d. The Retreating Monsoon

• It begins from mid-November in northern India and • It begins from March to May. The summer months • By the week of June, low pressure gets intensified over • During October and November, the southwest
stays till February. experience rising temperatures and falling air pressure in the north Indian plains. monsoon winds become weak and start retreating
• The temperature decreases from south to north. the northern part of the country. • These conditions attract the southeast trade winds from the northern plains by the beginning of October.
• Days are warm and nights are cold. Frost is • A striking feature of a hot weather season is the loo. originating from the Southern Ocean. • The retreat is indicated by clear skies and an increase
common in the north and higher slopes of the • Loo is a strong gusty, hot, dry wind blowing during the • This wind blows over the warm ocean and thus brings in the temperature in the northern plains. This is
Himalayas experience snowfall. day over the north and northwestern area. moisture and rainfall to the country. termed as October heat.
• The northeast trade winds prevail over the country. • During summers, sometimes localized thunderstorms • During the early monsoon season, the places located • At this time the low-pressure condition shifted to the
along with violent wind, and torrential downpours often over the windward side of the western Ghats receive Bay of Bengal, giving rise to the cyclonic depression.
accompanied by hail. In Bengal, it is called ‘Kaal Baisakhi’. heavy rainfall up to 250cm. • This depression often results in the destruction of life
• Pre-monsoon showers are common, especially in Kerala • The northeastern part of the country receives heavy and property.
and Karnataka. They help in the early ripening of mango rainfall. Mawsynram in Meghalaya receives the highest • Most of the rainfall on the Coromandel coast is derived
and are referred to as mango showers. amount of rainfall in the world. Rajasthan and Gujarat from depressions and cyclones.
get scanty rainfall. c.
• The rain does not fall continuously during the rainy
season thus there are dry spells and wet spells.

10. DISTRIBUTION OF RAINFALL 11. MONSOON AS A UNIFYING BOND

• Parts of the western coast and northeastern India receive over about 400 cm of • Although the monsoon winds are irregular and uncertain, they unify the
rainfall annually. entire country.
• Rainfall is less than 60 cm in western Rajasthan and adjoining parts of Gujarat, • The farmers eagerly wait for the arrival of rainfall because it provides the
Haryana and Punjab. water required to agricultural activities in ocean.
• Rainfall is low in the interior of the Deccan Plateau and east of the Sahyadris. • Its arrival is welcomed with the celebration of festivals singing and dancing.
• Snowfall is restricted to the Himalayan region. • The river valleys which carry this water also unite as a single river valley.
• The annual rainfall is highly variable from year to year and it is high in the
regions of low rainfall such as Rajasthan, Gujarat and some parts of Western
Ghats.