Climate & Factors affecting India’s Climate

 Climate & Weather

  • Climate - sum total of weather conditions and variations over a large area for a long period of time (more than thirty years).
  • India Climate - ‘monsoon’ (In Asia, type found mainly in the south and the southeast).
  • Weather - state of the atmosphere over an area at any point of time.
  • Snowfall in the upper parts of Himalayas, it rains over the rest of the country. 400 cm in Meghalaya to less than 10 cm in Ladakh and western Rajasthan. Most parts of the country receive rainfall from June to September. Some parts of Tamilnadu coast gets a large portion of its rain during October and November.
  • Decrease in rainfall generally from east to west in the Northern Plains.
Unity & Diversity in Monson Climate
  • Unity of India with the rest of southeast Asian region.
  • Regional diversities may be described as sub-types of monsoon climate.
  • Kerala and in the Andaman Islands, the difference between day and night temperatures may be hardly seven or eight degree Celsius.
  • Thar desert at day 50°C, night 15°-20° C.
  • While Cherrapunji and Mawsynram in the Khasi Hills of Meghalaya receive rainfall over 1,080 cm in a year, Jaisalmer in Rajasthan rarely gets more than 9 cm of rainfall during the same period.
  • Rainfall during June-September, but on the coastal areas of Tamil Nadu, it rains in the beginning of the winter season.
  • Northern India to have uniformly higher temperatures compared to other areas on the same latitudes.
  • Peninsular Plateau, influence of the sea – Moderate Temperature.
  • Monsoon winds bind the whole country by providing water to set the agricultural activities in motion.
Climatic Controls
  • The amount of solar energy received varies according to latitude. As a result, air temperature generally decreases from the equator towards the poles.
  • As one goes from the surface of the earth to higher altitudes, the atmosphere becomes less dense and temperature decreases. The hills are therefore cooler during summers.
  • The pressure and wind system of any area depend on the latitude and altitude of the place. Thus it influences the temperature and rainfall pattern.
  • The sea exerts a moderating influence on climate: As the distance from the sea increases, its moderating influence decreases and the people experience extreme weather conditions. This condition is known as continentality (i.e. very hot during summers and very cold during winters).
  • Ocean currents along with onshore winds affect the climate of the coastal areas.
  • Relief too plays a major role in determining the climate of a place. High mountains act as barriers for cold or hot winds; they may also cause precipitation if they are high enough and lie in the path of rain-bearing winds. The leeward side of mountains remains relatively dry.
Factors Affecting India’s Climate
Latitude
  • Tropic of Cancer on middle of the country, Rann of Kuchchh in the west to Mizoram in the east.
  • tropical (South part) as well as subtropical (North Part) climates.
Altitude
  • Temperature decreases with height.
The Himalayan Mountains
  • Act as an effective climatic divide. shield to protect the subcontinent from the cold northern winds.
Distribution of Land and Water
  • Differential heating of land and sea creates different air pressure zones in different seasons in and around the Indian subcontinent.
  • Difference in air pressure causes reversal in the direction of monsoon winds.
Distance from the Sea
  • Large coastal areas have an equable climate. Areas in the interior of India extremes of climate.
Relief
  • affects the temperature, air pressure, direction and speed of wind and the amount and distribution of rainfall.
Pressure and Winds
    • Pressure and surface winds
    • Upper air circulation
    • Western cyclonic disturbances and tropical cyclones/depression.
  • Region of north easterly winds originate from the subtropical high-pressure belt of the northern Hemisphere blow southwards, due to the Coriolis force move towards the equatorial low-pressure area.
Coriolis force: Caused by the earth’s rotation. Deflecting winds towards the right in the northern hemisphere and towards the left in the southern hemisphere. This is also known as ‘Ferrel’s Law’.

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