CLIMATE OF INDIA

India experiences Tropical Monsoon type of Climate since

 The greater part of the Indian sub-continent lies within the tropics and
 The climate is influenced by the seasonal reversal of monsoon winds. The South west monsoon in
summer and the North East monsoon in winter.

India is a large country and this results in sharp climatic contrasts.

 On a hot summer day in Rajasthan, the highest temperature may go up to 55°C whereas in
Ladakh, at night in the middle of winter, the temperature can go down to -45°C.
 Mawsynram in the Khasi hills records 1221cm of rainfall annually while in Rajasthan the annual
rainfall is less than 25cm.
Factors affecting the Climate of India.
1. Latitude.
 India lies between 8°4´N to 37°6´N. Thus it lies entirely in the northern hemisphere. The tropic of
Cancer passing through the middle of the country divides the country into the subtropical type of
climate in the north and tropical climate in the south. As the Himalayas block the cold polar winds,
the severity of winter is much less and so Northern India has sub-tropical climate instead of
temperate climate.(GR: Northern India has sub-tropical climate while South India has Tropical
climate as temperature decreases from the Equator to the Poles i.e. from South to North)
 The places lying between the Equator and the Tropic of Cancer experience the overhead sun twice,
one during Uttarayan and once during Dakshinayan. Example: Chennai, Kochi, Mumbai, Nagpur.
The places lying beyond the Tropic of Cancer never experiences the overhead sun. Example: Delhi,
Chandigarh.
2. Altitude.
 It controls the temperature of a place.
 According to the normal lapse rate, the temperature of a place decreases with increase in altitude at
the rate of 1°C for every 165m of ascent.
 Thus places in the mountains are cooler than places in the plains. Hill stations like Shimla (as
opposed to Chandigarh), Manali, and Mahabaleswar (as opposed to Pune) have comparatively
lower temperature in summer while it is much warmer in the nearby plains.
3. Distance from the sea.
 Places near the sea coast have a moderate or maritime climate as they come under the influence of
the land and sea breeze. Such areas have moderate temperatures. The range of temperature is
around 8°C to 10°C
 Places far away from the sea, in the interior of the country have an extreme or continental type of
climate as they do not experience the moderating influence of the Sea. Such areas have high range
of temperature, above 10°C.
 As India has a long coastline, Peninsular India experiences moderate summer temperature and no
well-defined winter season.
4. The Himalayas.
By virtue of its great altitude, longitudinal extent and east west alignment, the Himalayas form an effective
barrier and climate divide.
 It functions as a barrier because it blocks the cold polar winds from entering India and blocks the
South West monsoon winds forcing them to shed their moisture over India.
 It is called a climate divide because it separates two distinct climatic types. Sub-tropical climate,
south of the Himalayas and Cold temperate climate north of the Himalayas.
5. Physiography (Relief)
The alignment of a mountain range with respect to the monsoon winds is an important factor influencing
the climate of India.
 When a mountain range is transverse (at right angles) to the moisture bearing winds, it causes
heavy orographic rainfall to the windward side of the mountain range Eg: a) Mahabaleswar on the
windward side of the Western Ghats. Pune is on the leeward side. b) Mawsynram in the windward
side Khasi hills. In contrast, the leeward side or the rain shadow area receives low amount of
rainfall.
 When a mountain range is parallel to the moisture bearing winds, it will not bring any rain. Eg: The
Aravalli hills receive no rain from the Arabian Sea branch of the South West monsoon winds as they
are parallel to the winds.
6. Winds
The monsoon, a periodic wind, is the most dominating wind controlling and influencing the Climate of
India. It shows a reversal of wind direction between summer and winter.
 In summer, the South west monsoon winds blow from sea to land and bring rainfall to major parts of
the country.
 In winter the North east monsoon winds blow from land to sea and bring no rain except for Tamil
Nadu which gets rain due to the peculiar configuration of the land.
7. Upper Air Circulation.
Upper Air Circulation involves jet streams, bands of high velocity winds blowing horizontally through the
upper layers of the troposphere.
 The Sub-tropical jet stream or the Westerly jet stream is active during winter. It draws in temperate
cyclones/ western disturbances into India from the Mediterranean Sea.
 The tropical Easterly jet stream is active during summer and is responsible for the onset of
monsoon.
8. El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO)
Southern Oscillation is a pattern of sea surface pressure changes observed between the Indian and the
Pacific oceans due to the effect of the warm El Nino current which disturbs the monsoon pattern.

Rhythm of Seasons:
India’s climate is characterized by 4 distinct seasons.
 Hot dry summer season (March to May)
 Rainy Season/Advancing monsoon season (June to September)
 Retreating monsoons (October to November)
 Cold weather season (December to February)
Hot dry summer season (March to May)
Temperature

 The Sun moves from the Equator to the Tropic of Cancer. Thus the temperature rises due to the
direct rays of the Sun.

 Peninsular India experience temperature between 35°C-40°C.

 Coastal areas experience temperature between 27°C-32°C due to the moderating influence of the
sea. Central India e.g. Delhi, Madhya Pradesh experience temperature between 40°C-45°C due
to their continental location.
 North-west India, mainly Rajasthan experiences temperatures above 45°C. This is due to sandy
soil, direct insolation and lack of cloud cover.
 Places located at higher altitudes like Shimla are cooler.
Pressure

 Supposed to be from sea to line but it is not well pronounced in this seasons
 Pressure decreases with increase in temperature.
 Low pressure extends from Thar Desert to Chhotanagpur plateau.
 Pressure is higher over the Deccan Plateau which prevents the winds from blowing into India from
the Arabian Sea.
Local winds and Storms

 Loo- It is a hot dry dusty wind which blows over the Northern plains. Exposure to it causes heat
stroke and brings in drought conditions. It is also commonly known as aandhi.
 Norwesters- Also known as Kalbaisakhi or calamity of the month of Baisakh. These thunderstorms,
accompanied with thunder and lightning and heavy rain. They are caused by inflow of warm
moisture- laden air from the Bay of Bengal towards the low pressure trough over Jharkhand. The
rain is extremely beneficial for the rice and jute crops of West Bengal.
 Bardoichila- These are Norwesters in Assam. They occur when the cool dry wind from the
Himalayas meet the warm moist air rising from the Brahmaputra plains. The rain benefits the tea
crop of Assam.
 Mango showers- The coastal parts of Kerala and Karnataka rain occurs. They are called cherry
blossoms in Karnataka. The rainfall is beneficial for ripening of mangoes and growing of tea and
coffee crops.
Rainy Season/Advancing monsoon season (June to September)
Origin of Monsoons

 Monsoon is defined as a seasonally reversing wind system accompanied by seasonal changes in

atmospheric circulation and precipitation.
 The Indian landmass gets heated to a very great extent leading to the development of an intense
low pressure zone extending from Rajasthan to Odisha. This area of low pressure is called the
Monsoon Trough.
 The ocean on the other hand remains relatively cold. A high pressure area exists over it.
 The low pressure over the land is intense enough to attract the SE trade winds from over the Indian
Ocean even in the Southern hemisphere.
 Thus the South East Trades which are the prevailing wind over the Southern Hemisphere are
attracted into India.
  When the South East Trades cross the Equator, they are deflected towards the right due to the
Coriolis Effect and they blow into India as the South West Monsoon winds.
 Due to the triangular shape of India, the South West Monsoon winds are divided into two branches-
the Arabian Sea Branch and the Bay of Bengal Branch.
 The arrival of the South West Monsoon is sudden and accompanied with thunder and lightning and
heavy rainfall and is termed as ‘burst of monsoon’. Kanya kumari is the first place Kerala is the first
state to receive monsoon rain. The dry spells within the span of the monsoon is termed as ‘Break in
Monsoon’s
Distribution of rainfall
The Arabian Sea branch
 This branch is more powerful than the Bay of Bengal branch as the entire branch enters the Indian
landmass. It splits into three currents on reaching the west coast of India.
 The first current strikes the Western Ghats which stand like a wall in the path of the winds. The
moisture laden winds, on ascent, bring heavy orographic rainfall to the western coastal plains and
the windward side of the Western Ghats. The eastern slope of the Western Ghats, being on the
leeward slope or rain shadow region receives less rain. Eg. Mahabaleswar receives 188cm of
rainfall and Pune receives 50cm rainfall. The Tamil Nadu Coast receives meagre amounts of rainfall
as it lies on the leeward side of the Arabian Sea Branch. This is why Tamil Nadu receives less
rainfall in summer.
 The second current enters the troughs (rift valley) of the Narmada and Tapi rivers. It sheds about
60cm of rain in Nagpur.
 The third current enters through Saurashtra and Kachchh. This current runs parallel to the Aravallis.
As the Aravalli range does not intercept this current scanty rainfall is shed over western Rajasthan
causing Thar Desert to form. (Why is Thar a desert?) In addition, this branch loses its moisture as it
mixes with the hot dry air from Balochistan. It moves ahead to the North West and causes relief rain
to the Punjab, at the foothills of the Siwaliks.
The Bay of Bengal Branch
 This branch advances over the Bay of Bengal and strikes the Arakan Yoma in Myanmar and gets
deflected. It does not bring rain to the Tamil Nadu coast as it blows parallel to the coast.
 The first current enters the deep north-south trending valleys of the Garo, Khasi and Jaintia hills and
shed heavy orographic rain on the windward slopes. Cherrapunji and Mawsynram receive1102 and
1221cm of rainfall, respectively. Shillong on the leeward slope receives 250 cm of rainfall.
 The second current enters south Bengal from the Bay of Bengal. It strikes the Himalayan foothills
and moves up the Ganga Plains covering Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. As
the winds are continuously shedding moisture, the amount of rainfall decreases from east to west.
Eg. Kolkata receives more rainfall than Varanasi. Eg. Patna receives more rainfall than Delhi. The
Thar Desert lying on the leeward side of the Aravallis receive little or no rain from this branch.
Characteristics of South West Monsoon.
 The bulk of the rainfall is received during this season in almost every part of India except Tamil
Nadu.
 The amount of rainfall received depends on relief.
 The rain is unreliable and there are dry intervals.
Retreating monsoons (October to November)

 The Sun moves from the Tropic of Cancer to the Equator. Thus the temperature begins to drop over
the northern plains.
  The low pressure trough shifts southward. By November, the trough shifts towards the Andaman
Sea. The process of withdrawal of monsoon is very slow. Kanya kumari is the last place Kerala is
the last state to receive monsoon rain.
 This is a season of transition. It is characterized by clear skies, large diurnal range of temperature.
High temperature and high humidity causes oppressive heat also known as October heat.
 Parts of the east coast, receives heavy rain from Tropical cyclones. They originate over the
Andaman Sea. They cause widespread destruction to life and property.
Cold weather season (December to May)
Temperature
The Sun migrates towards the Tropic of Capricorn. Fine weather persists with clear skies, drop in
temperature and humidity.
Temperature decreases from South to North. The lowest temperatures are recorded in the Northern plains
due to its continental location. The Deccan Plateau is warmer as it is closer to the equator.
Pressure
There is high pressure over the northern plains and low pressure over the oceans.
Monsoon winds and Depressions.
 The North East Monsoon winds blow from land to sea in this season. As it blows from land to sea, it
does not bring rain.
 As it blows over the Bay of Bengal, it picks up moisture and brings rain to the Coromandel Coast.
 During this season, parts of Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir get about 10-15cm of rainfall brought by
westerly depressions which originate in the Mediterranean region. They are also referred to as
Western Disturbances. This precipitation is very beneficial to the wheat crop of the Punjab.
Main features of Indian Monsoon
 Rainfall is erratic and unpredictable. Erratic because the amount of rainfall varies from year to year.
The arrival and retreat of monsoon is unpredictable.
 Rainfall is unevenly distributed as it is mostly orographic in nature. There is flood in some places
while drought in others.

 Most of the rainfall occurs in summer.

 India is an agricultural country and its economic prosperity depends on the rainfall. Failure of rainfall
causes a setback to farmers, industries, trade and commerce.
Annual Distribution of rainfall

Areas North of Tropic of Cancer South of Tropic of Cancer

Areas of heavy rainfall. Mawsynram on the windward side Coastal plains of Western India and
(over 200cm of rain) of the Khasi hills. windward slope of the Western Ghats.
Areas of moderate The middle Ganga Valley. Krishna Godavari delta.
rainfall. (100-200cm)
Areas of scanty rainfall. Upper Ganga Valley Eastern Maharashtra
(50-100cm)
Semi-arid to arid. (Less Thar Rain shadow region of Western Ghats
than 50cm) covering Karnataka and Tamil Nadu