WEATHER AND CLIMATE, MICRO-CLIMATE

Weather

i) ‘A state or condition of the atmosphere at a given place and at a given instant of time’.

ii) ‘The daily or short term variations of different conditions of lower air in terms of temperature,

pressure, wind, rainfall, etc’.

iii) State of atmosphere at a particular time as defined by the various meteorological elements.

(WMO)

The aspects involved in weather include small areas and duration, expressed in

numerical values, etc. The different weather elements are solar radiation, temperature,

pressure, wind, humidity, rainfall evaporation, etc. is highly variable. It changes constantly

sometimes from hour to hour and at other times from day to day.

Climate

i) ‘The generalized weather or summation of weather conditions over a given region during

comparatively longer period’.

ii) ‘The sum of all statistical information of weather in a particular area during a specified

interval of time, usually, a season or a year or even a decade’.

iii) Synthesis of weather conditions in a given area, characterized by long-term statistics (mean

values, variances, probabilities of extreme values, etc,) of the meteorological elements in

that area. (WMO)

The aspects involved are larger areas like a zone, a state, a country and is described by

normal. The climatic normals are generally worked out for a period of 30 years.

Differences between weather and climate:

Weather Climate

1. A typical physical condition of the 1. Generalized condition of the atmosphere

atmosphere. which represents and describes the

2. Changes from place to place even in a small 2. Different in different large region

locality

3. Changes according to time (every moment) 3. Change requires longer (years) time.

4. Similar numerical values of weather of 4. Similar numerical values of climate of different

different places usually have same weather places usually have different climates.

5. Crop growth, development and yield are 5. Selection of crops suitable for a place is

decided by weather in a given season. decided based on climate of the region.

6. Under abnormal weather conditions planners 6. Helps in long-term agricultural planning.

can adopt a short-term contingent planning.

Factors affecting climate

i) Latitude

The distance from the equator, either south or north, largely creates variations in the

climate. Based on the latitude, the climate has been classified as

i) Tropical ii) Sub-tropical iii) Temperate & iv) Polar.

ii) Altitude (elevation)

The height from the MSL creates variation in climate. Even in the tropical regions, the

high mountains have temperate climate. The temperature decreases by 6.5 ºC/Km from the sea

level. Generally, there is also a decrease in pressure and increase in precipitation and wind

velocity. The above factors alter the kind of vegetation, soil types and the crop production.

iii) Precipitation

The quantity and distribution of rainfall decides the nature of vegetation and the nature of

the cultivated crops. The crop regions are classified on the basis of average rainfall which is as

follow.
 Rainfall(mm) Name of the climatic region

Less than 500 Arid

500-750 Semi-arid

750-1000 Sub-arid

More than 1000 Humid

iv) Soil type

Soil is a product of climatic action on rocks as modified by landscape and vegetation

over a long period of time. The colour of the soil surface affects the absorption, storage and re-

radiation of heat. White colour reflects while black absorbs more radiation. Due to differential

absorption of heat energy, variations in temperature are created at different places. In black soil

areas, the climate is hot while in red soil areas, it is comparatively cooler due to lesser heat

absorption.

v) Nearness to large water bodies

The presence of large water bodies like lakes and sea including its current affect the

climate of the surrounding areas, eg: Islands and coastal areas. The movement of air from

earth’s surface and from water bodies to earth modifies the climate. The extreme variation in

temperature during summer and winter is minimized in coastal areas and island.

vi) Topography

The surface of landscape (leveled or uneven surface areas) produces marked change in

the climate. This involves the altitude of the place, steepness of the slope and exposure of the

slope to light and wind.

vii) Vegetation
 Kinds of vegetation characterize the nature of climate. Thick vegetation is found in

tropical regions where temperature and precipitation are high. General types of vegetations

present in a region indicate the nature of the climate of that region.

Scales of climate and their importance

i) Microclimate

Microclimate deals with the climatic features peculiar to small areas and with the

physical processes that take place in the layer of air very near to the ground. Soil-ground

conditions, character of vegetation cover, aspect of slopes, and state of the soil surface, relief

forms – all these may create special local conditions of temperature, humidity, wind and

radiation in the layer of air near the ground which differ sharply from general climatic conditions.

One of the most important tasks of agricultural meteorology is to study the properties of air near

the ground and surface layer of soil, which falls under the micro climate.

ii) Meso climate

The scale of meso climate falls between micro and macro climates. It is concerned with

the study of climate over relatively smaller areas between 10 & 100 km across.

iii) Macro climate

Macro climate deals with the study of atmosphere over large areas of the earth and with

the large scale atmospheric motions that cause weather. The scales of air motion in different

climates are given in the Table below.

Type of climate Horizontal scale Vertical scale(km) Time Scale(hrs)

(km)

A. Macro climate

1. Planetary scale 2000-5000 & more 10 200 to 400

2. Synoptic scale 500-2000 10 100

B. Meso climate 1 to 100 1-10 1-10

If any weather system develops under different types of climate, it persists longer

periods under the macroclimate while smaller periods under micro climates.

CLIMATES OF INDIA AND TAMILNADU AND THEIR CHARACTERIZATION

Climate classification was tried by many scientists from beginning of 19th century using many

parameters. Thornthwaite during 1931 and 1948 classified the climate using precipitation and

evaporation /Potential evaporation and was subsequently modified by Mathur (1955) for the

Moisture Index (Im) and is give below

Im = 100 [(P-PE)/PE]

Where P = Precipitation, PE = Potential evapo-transpiration

Using the moisture Index (Im) the following classification was made

Im Quantity Climate classification

100 and above Per humid

20 to 100 Humid

0 to 20 Moist sub humid

-33.3 to 0 Dry sub humid

-66.7 to -33.3 Semi arid

-100 to -66.7 Arid

Another classification by Troll (1965) based on number of humid months, said to be of more

agricultural use was modified by ICRISAT for India. Humid month is one having mean rainfall

exceeding the mean Potential evapo transpiration.

Climate Number of humid months % geographical area of India

Arid <2.0 17.00

Semiarid-dry 2.0-4.5 57.17

Semiarid-wet 4.5-7.0 12.31

Humid >7.0 1.10

classification based Moisture Deficit Index (MDI)

P - PET

MDI = --------- x 100

PET

Where P is annual precipitation (cm) and PET is Potential Evapotranspiration. Based on MDI

the climate is divided into three regions as below.

Type of climate MDI

Subhumid 0.0 to 33.3

Semiarid -33.3 to -66.6

Arid > -66.6

Temperature based classification

The tropic of cancer, which passes through the middle of the country, divides it into two distinct

climates. The tropical climate in the South where all the 12 months of the year have mean daily

temperature exceeding 20°C; and in the North where a sub-tropical climate prevails. In sub-

tropics during the winter months, it is cool to cold. Frosts occur sometime during the months of

December and January. Some areas in the Northern India have a temperate climate. Here it

snows during the winter months and freezing temperatures may extend to two months or more

during the year. Three main climatic zones of India based on temperature are shown in the map

below.