Climate -2

The four seasons experienced on the basis of monsoonal variation are:

1- The Hot, Dry Summer Season (March, April, May)

2- The Hot and Wet Rainy Season or the Season of the South-West Monsoons. (June, July, August,
September)

3- The Season of the Retreating South-West Monsoons. (October)

4- The Cool, Dry Winter Season (November, December, January, February)

The Hot Dry Summer Season:

-After March the apparent migration of the Sun is towards the Tropic of Cancer.

-The landmass of the Indian Sub-continent gets heated.

-Temperatures are high and atmospheric pressure is low.

-Longer days, shorter nights, intense insolation

-In peninsular India along the coast temperature is moderated by land and sea breeze.

-Due to the intense heating a low-pressure belt/trough/depression is created from the Thar in
Rajasthan to the Chota Nagpur Plateau in the east. Temperatures rise up to 45 to 50 degrees
Celsius.There is occasional tornado like dust storms in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh.

-In North India two local winds blow:

i- The Loo-It blows over the entire North Indian Plain. It is a hot, dry, dusty wind which originates in
the North-West and blows from the North-West to the East over the Great North Indian plain
/Ganga plain. It is hot enough to cause heat strokes.

ii- The Kalbaisakhi/Bardoli Chheerha (as called in Assam)-Thunderstorms accompanied with strong
winds and heavy rainfall occur in Bengal, parts of Northern Odisha and Assam during Baisakhi.
They originate over the Chota Nagpur Plateau area and are also called Nor ’westers. They benefit
therice and jute crop in Bengal and the tea crop in Assam.

-Peninsular India receives pre-monsoon showers called Mango showers /Cherry Blossom showers
in April and May on its West coast.

Mango showers – as they help in the ripening of the Mango crop.

Cherry Blossom Showers- as they help in the growth of the coffee crop. (The cherry refers to the
coffee cherry of the coffee crop).

The Hot, Wet, Rainy Season.

Towards the middle of June the Sun shines almost vertically on the Tropic of Cancer.(It shines
vertically on June 21 st )This raises the temperature of North India.

The Sub-Tropical high pressure gets obliterated.

The low pressure which develops over India is lower than that of the Equatorial Low Pressure.

The South-east Trade winds which blow towards the Equator get attracted by this low pressure and
blow towards the Indian Sub-continent.

At the Equator they get deflected to the right and therefore the direction of the winds is South-West
to North-East.

These winds pick up the moisture from the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal.
These moisture laden winds are called the South-West Monsoon winds.

Due to the peninsular shape of India the South-West monsoon winds splits into two branches.

a-the Arabian Sea branch

b-The Bay of Bengal branch.

a-The Arabian Sea branch

In peninsular India this branch is obstructed by the Western Ghats therefore sheds heavy orographic
rainfall on the windward side. (250-500cm.)

The leeward side receives approximately 120 -150cm.

The Deccan plateau (Central Maharashtra) which is in the rain-shadow region of the Western Ghats
gets 80-100cm.of rainfall which diminishes as the winds blow eastwards.

In Rajasthan, the Arabian sea branch blows parallel to the Aravalli hence it gives little of no rain to
the Thar desert.

As the wind blows over Rajasthan the hot, dry air of Rajasthan absorbs much of the moisture
therefore Punjab receives 150cm.of rainfall approximately.

b-The Bay of Bengal branch-

This enters India from the Ganga Brahmaputra delta, it is obstructed by the Garo, Khasi, Jaintia hills
(Assam hills) and give orographic rainfall to the towns and villages (Cherrapunji, Mawsynram) in the
hills which are on the windward side (11,777mm)

The Shillong plateau which is in the rain shadow of the Khasi hills receives 3000mm of rainfall.

The winds travel further but are now blocked by the Himalayas and therefore get deflected to the
West.

They shed orographic rainfall all along the foothills of the Himalayas.

Rainfall decreases in quantity as it blows westwards.

In the West the winds are blocked by the Aravalli range where they shed the remaining moisture

which is very little on the windward side of the Aravalli.

The Thar which is in the rain shadow region of the Aravalli therefore receives little or no rain from
the Bay of Bengal branch of the South-West Monsoon winds.

Characteristics of Indian Monsoons:

-They are seasonal with alternate wet and dry spells.

-They are orographic.

-Unpredictable –the arrival and the departure of the summer monsoons is unpredictable.

-they are uneven and erratic in distribution.

-the dry period in the rainy season is called the, ‘Break of monsoons’.

Season of the Retreating Monsoons/Withdrawal of the South-West Monsoons-October.

By mid- September the Sun the apparent migration of the Sun is towards the Equator.

The low pressure over the Ganga plain starts weakening due the apparent migration of the Sun.

This low-pressure depression is now replaced by high pressure gradually.

The winds start retreating gradually from the Northern plains to Central India to Southern India.

One sees clear skies and a dip in the temperature at night.

The land remains moist. Due to clear skies the temperature of the day is high. The combined effect
of humidity (because the land is still moist) and high temperature makes the weather oppressive.

This is commonly known as, ‘October Heat’.

The low pressure which has shifted to the south forms cyclonic depressions over the Bay of Bengal

which originate over the Andaman Islands. These give cyclonic rainfall to the Coromandel Coast and
the coast of Odisha.

They do not reach parts of the Deccan plateau because it lies in the Rain shadow region of the
Eastern Ghats.

The season of the retreating monsoons is the period of transition from the rainy season to the cool,
dry winter season.

READ TROPICAL CYCLONES FROM THE TEXT BOOK.

The Cool, Dry, Winter Season.

The apparent migration of the Sun now continues towards the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern
Hemisphere.

The landmass of India cools…means the temperature is low

The Sub-Tropical high pressure is restored.

There is a reversal of the wind system-the South West-North East reverses to North East –South
West.

These are off shore winds and hence bring no rain to most of India. Also, mainland India is
experiencing high atmospheric pressure therefore they bring no rain to most of India.

However, they collect moisture from the Bay of Bengal and bring relief rain to the Coromandel
Coast/South East Coast/Coastal Tamil Nadu which is on the windward side of the Eastern Ghats.
These are called the North East monsoons. They help in the growth of the paddy crop in the
Coromandel Coast.

In North West India Punjab, Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi come under
the influence of the Temperate cyclones/Western disturbances.

They give approximately 50 to 80cm.of

rainfall.

Economic importance of this rain:

-It helps in the growth of the rabi crop (winter crop).

-It enhances the size of the wheat grain.

Rainfall associated with Temperate Cyclones is less intense and lasts longer than Tropical cyclones.

READ TEMPERATE CYCLONES FROM THE TEXTBOOK.

ALSO READ DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TROPICAL AND TEMPERATE CYCLONES AND THE TABLE ON
SOUTH-WEST MONSOONS, RETREATING MONSOONS AND NORTH-EAST MONSOONS FROM THE
TEXT.

The intense cold in North India is due to-

-the cold winds from the Caspian Sea region bring a cold wave over the North-Western parts of India
in February.

-Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and the other North Indian states being in the interior do not
experience the moderating influence of the sea.

-The snow fall in the Himalayas creates a cold wave.