CLIMATE

2. Answer the following questions briefly.

(i) What are the factors affecting the climate of India?

Answer:

The factors affecting the climate of India are

1. Latitude

2. Altitude

3. Pressure and Winds

(ii) Why does India have a monsoon type of climate?

Answer:

The climate of India is described as the ‘monsoon’ type. Monsoon refers to the
seasonal reversal in the wind direction during a year.
The monsoon type of climate is characterised by a distinct seasonal pattern. The
weather conditions greatly change from one season to the other. These changes are
particularly noticeable in the interior parts of the country. The coastal areas do not
experience much variation in temperature, though there is variation in the rainfall
pattern.
Four main seasons can be identified in India – the cold weather season, the hot
weather season, the advancing monsoon and the retreating monsoon with some
regional variations.
The climate of India is strongly influenced by monsoon winds. The duration of the
monsoon is between 100-120 days from early June to mid-September.

(iii) Which part of India does experience the highest diurnal range of
temperature and why?

Answer:

The regions experiencing this phenomenon are in the northwestern part of India. The
reason behind this effect is the Thar desert. Moreover, this region does not have an
ocean to moderate the temperature.

(iv) Which winds account for rainfall along the Malabar Coast?
Answer:

Southwest monsoon winds are responsible for rainfall along the Malabar Coast.

(v) What are Jet streams, and how do they affect the climate of India?

Answer:

Jet Streams are a narrow belt of high altitude (above 12,000 m) westerly winds in the
troposphere. Their speed varies from about 110 km/h in summer to about 184 km/h
in winter. A number of separate jet streams have been identified. The most constant
is the mid-latitude and subtropical jet stream. They cause depression during the
monsoon season.

(vi) Define monsoons. What do you understand by “break” in monsoon?

Answer:

Breaks in monsoon are related to the movement of the monsoon trough. For various
reasons, the trough and its axis keep on moving northward or southward, which
determines the spatial distribution of rainfall. When the axis of the monsoon trough
lies over the plains, rainfall is good in these parts. On the other hand, whenever the
axis shifts closer to the Himalayas, there are longer dry spells in the plains, and
widespread rain occurs in the mountainous catchment areas of the Himalayan rivers.

(vii) Why is the monsoon considered a unifying bond?

Answer:

The unifying influence of the monsoon on the Indian subcontinent is quite

perceptible. The seasonal alteration of the wind systems and the associated weather
conditions provide a rhythmic cycle of seasons. Even the uncertainties of rain and
uneven distribution are very much typical of the monsoons. The Indian landscape, its
animal and plant life, its entire agricultural calendar and the life of the people
(including their festivities) revolve around this phenomenon. Year after year, the
people of India, from north to south and from east to west, eagerly await the arrival of
the monsoon. These monsoon winds bind the whole country by providing water to
set agricultural activities in motion. The river valleys which carry this water also unite
as a single river valley unit.

3. Why does the rainfall decrease from the east to the west in Northern India?
Answer:

As they move in that direction, the winds lose the moisture content. Hence, the
reason for the reduction in rainfall.

4. Give reasons as to why.

(i) Seasonal reversal of wind direction takes place over the Indian
subcontinent?

Answer:

1. Seasonal change in wind direction due to pressure difference.

2. El Nino plays a major role.

(ii) The bulk of rainfall in India is concentrated over a few months.

Answer:

Rainfall is dependent on the South West Monsoon winds; it rapidly progresses and
covers large swathes of the country by July.

(iii) The Tamil Nadu coast receives winter rainfall.

Answer:

It is because of North-East monsoon winds.

(iv) The delta region of the eastern coast is frequently struck by cyclones.

Answer:

The Bay of Bengal faces frequent pressure changes.

(v) Parts of Rajasthan, Gujarat and the leeward side of the Western Ghats are
drought-prone.

Answer:

Because they fall in the rain shadow region of the Aravali Mountains.
 LONG QUESTION ANSWERS

5. Describe the regional variations in the climatic conditions of India with the
help of suitable examples

Answer:

1. The cold weather season begins in mid-November in northern India and stays till
February. December and January are the coldest months in the northern part of India.
The temperature decreases from south to north. The average temperature of Chennai,
on the eastern coast, is between 24°-25° Celsius, while in the northern plains, it ranges
between 10°C and 15° Celsius. Days are warm, and nights are cold. Frost is common in
the north, and the higher slopes of the Himalayas experience snowfall
2. In March, the highest temperature is about 38° Celsius, recorded on the Deccan plateau.
In April, temperatures in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh are around 42° Celsius. In May,
the temperature of 45° Celsius is common in the northwestern parts of the country. In
peninsular India, temperatures remain lower due to the moderating influence of the
oceans.

6. Discuss the mechanisms of the monsoon.

Answer:

(a) The differential heating and cooling of land and water create a low pressure on
the landmass of India while the seas around experience comparatively high
pressure.

(b) The shift of the position of Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) in summer
over the Ganga Plain. (This is the equatorial trough, normally positioned about 5°N
of the equator. It is also known as the monsoon trough during the monsoon season.)

(c) The presence of the high-pressure area, east of Madagascar, approximately at

20°S over the Indian Ocean. The intensity and position of this high-pressure area
affect the Indian Monsoon.

(d) The Tibetan Plateau gets intensely heated during summer, which results in
strong vertical air currents and the formation of low pressure over the plateau at
about 9 km above sea level.

(e) The movement of the westerly jet stream to the north of the Himalayas and the
presence of the tropical easterly jet stream over the Indian peninsula during summer.

7. Give an account of weather conditions and characteristics of the cold

season.

Answer:
The cold weather season begins in mid-November in northern India and stays till
February. December and January are the coldest months in the northern part of
India. The temperature decreases as we go from the south to the north

. Here, the days are warm, and the nights are cold. Frost is common in the north,
and the higher slopes of the Himalayas experience snowfall. During this season, the
northeast trade winds prevail over the country. They blow from land to sea, and
hence, for the most part of the country, it is a dry season. Some amount of rainfall
occurs on the Tamil Nadu coast from these winds as here they blow from sea to
land. In the northern part of the country, a feeble high-pressure region develops, with
light winds moving outwards from this area.

. The weather is normally marked by clear sky, low temperatures and low humidity
and feeble, variable winds. A characteristic feature of the cold weather season over
the northern plains is the inflow of cyclonic disturbances from the west and the
northwest. These low-pressure systems originate over the Mediterranean Sea and
western Asia and move into India along with the westerly flow. They cause much-
needed winter rains over the plains and snowfall in the mountains.

8. Give the characteristics and effects of the monsoon rainfall in India.

Answer:

The Monsoon, unlike the trades, is not a steady wind but is pulsating in nature,
affected by different atmospheric conditions encountered by it on its way over the
warm tropical seas. The duration of the monsoon is between 100-120 days from
early June to mid-September. Around the time of its arrival, the normal rainfall
increases suddenly and constantly continues for several days. This is known as the
‘burst’ of the monsoon and can be distinguished from the pre-monsoon showers. The
monsoon arrives at the southern tip of the Indian peninsula, generally by the first
week of June. Subsequently, it proceeds into two: the Arabian Sea branch and the
Bay of Bengal branch. The Arabian Sea branch reaches Mumbai about ten days
later on approximately the 10th of June. This is a fairly rapid advance. The Bay of
Bengal branch also advances rapidly and arrives in Assam in the first week of June.
The lofty mountains cause the monsoon winds to deflect towards the west over the
Ganga Plains. By mid-June, the Arabian Sea branch of the monsoon arrives over
Saurashtra-Kachchh and the central part of the country. The Arabian Sea and the
Bay of Bengal branches of the monsoon merge over the northwestern part of the
Ganga Plains. Delhi generally receives the monsoon showers from the Bay of
Bengal branch by the end of June (tentative date is 29th of June). By the first week
of July, western Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and eastern Rajasthan experience
the monsoon. By mid-July, the monsoon reaches Himachal Pradesh and the rest of
the country.