GEOGRAPHY

Chapter-4 Climate
Q1.Define
a) Climate - It refers to sum total of weather conditions and variations over a
large area for a long period of time.
b) Weather - It refers to the state of the atmosphere over an area of any point
of time. The elements of weather and climate are the same, i.e. temperature,
atmospheric pressure, wind, humidity and precipitation.
c) Jet stream - These are a narrow belt of high altitude westerly winds in the
high troposphere .Their speed varies from about 110km/h in summer to about
184km/h in winter.
d) Kaal Baisakhi – The season for localised thunderstorms associated with
violent wind, torrential downpours, often accompanied by hail. In West
Bengal, these storms are called Kaal Baisakhi.
e) Mango showers – Towards the close of the summer season, pre monsoon
shower are common especially in Kerala and Karnataka. They help in the early
ripening of mangoes and are often referred to as ‘mango showers’ .
f) October Heat – Due to retreat of monsoon there are conditions of high
temperature and humidity, the weather becomes rather oppressive during the
day. This is commonly called October heat.
Q2. Discuss the climatic conditions over the various parts of India
1) In summer, the mercury occasionally touches 50o C in some parts of
Rajasthan desert, whereas it may be around 20oC in Pahalgam in Jammu
and Kashmir.
2) On a winter night, temperature at Drass in Jammu – Kashmir may be as
low as -45o C and on the other hand Thiruvanathapuram may have 22oC
Temperature.
3) While precipitation is mostly in upper parts of Himalayas, it rains over
rest of the country. The annual precipitation varies from 400 cm in
Meghalaya to less than 10cm in Ladakh and western Rajasthan.
Q3. Discuss the factors that control climate of a place.
 a) Latitude: Due to curvature of earth, the amount of solar energy received
varies according to latitude. As a result, air temperature generally
decreases from equator towards poles.

b) Altitude: 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 in summer.

c) Pressure and Wind: The pressure and wind system of any area depends
on latitude and altitude of the place. Thus, it all influences the
temperature and rainfall pattern.

d) Distance from sea: As the distance from sea increases, its moderating
influence decreases and people experience extreme weather conditions.

e) Ocean currents: These currents along with ashore winds affect the
climate of coastal areas.

f) Relief: 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 mountain remains dry.

Q4. Discuss the factors affecting India’s climate

a) Latitude: Almost half of the country lying south of Tropic of Cancer,
belongs to the tropical area. The remaining area lies in subtropics.

b) Altitude: India has mountains to the north which have an average height
of about 6000m. India also has a vast coastal area where maximum
elevation is 30m. This is why North India experiences severe winters.

c) Pressure and Winds: The climate and associated weather conditions in

India are governed by the following atmospheric conditions:-

 Pressure and surface winds

 Upper air circulation
 Western cyclonic disturbances and tropical cyclones
 Distance from the sea
Q5. The pressure and wind conditions over India are unique. Explain:-
a) During winter, there is a high pressure area north of the Himalayas.
b) Cold dry winds blow from this region to the low pressure areas over the
oceans to the south
c) In summer, a low pressure area develops over interior Asia as well as
northern India. This causes a complete reversal of direction of wind
d) Air moves from the high pressure area over the southern Indian ocean in
a south easterly direction, crossing equator and turns right towards low
pressure areas over Indian sub-continent. These are called southwest
monsoon winds.
e) These winds blow over warm oceans, gather moisture and bring
widespread rainfall over mainland of India.
Q6. State the factors that are important to understand the mechanism of
monsoon:-

a) The differential heating and cooling of land and water.

b) The shift of position of Inter Tropical Convergence Zone.
c) The presence of high pressure area, east of Madagascar.
d) The Tibetan plateau gets immensely heated during the summer,
which results in strong vertical air currents and the formation of low
pressure over the plateau at about 9km above sea level.
e) The movement of westerly jet streams to the north of Himalayas and
presence of tropical easterly jet stream over Indian Peninsula in
summer

Q7. What is ‘burst of monsoon’?

Around the time of its arrival, the normal rainfall suddenly increases and
continuously for several days. This is known as ‘burst of monsoon’.

Q8. Where do the two monsoon branches meet in India?

The Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal merge and over the north-western part of
the Ganga plain.

Q9. Discuss the features of:-

a) Cold Weather Season

 The cold weather season begins from the mid November in northern
India and stays till late February.
  The temperature decreases from south to north.
 Days are warm and nights are cold.
 Frost is common in the north and slopes in Himalayas experience
snowfall.
 During this season, the north-east trade winds prevail over the country.
They blow from land to sea and hence, for most part of the country its
dry.
 In the northern part of the country a feeble high pressure region
develops with light winds moving out of this area.
 The weather is normally marked by clear sky, low temperature and low
humidity and feeble variable winds.
b) Hot weather season
 In March the highest temperature is 38oC. In April temperature in Gujarat
and MP is 42oC and in May 45oC is common.
 In peninsular India, temperatures remain lower due to moderating
influence of the oceans.
 The summer months experience rising temperature in the northern part
of the country.
 A striking feature is loo.
c) Advancing monsoon
 By early June to the low pressure condition over the northern plains
intensifies. It attracts the tide winds of the southern hemisphere.
 These south east trade winds originate over the over the warm
subtropical areas of the southern oceans.
 With the exception of the extreme north-west, the monsoon winds
 The maximum rainfall of the season is received in the north-eastern part
of the country. Mawsynram in the southern ranges of the Khasi Hills
receive highest average rainfall.
d) Retreating Rainfall
 During October to November, with apparent movement of the sun
towards the south, the monsoon trough or the low pressure trough over
the northern mountains becomes weaker.
 This is gradually replaced by high pressure system.
 The south-west mountain winds weaken and start withdrawing gradually.
By the beginning of October, the monsoon withdraws from Northern
plains.

Q10. Give an account of rainfall distribution in India.

 1) Parts of the western coast and North-eastern coast receive over 460cm
of rainfall annually.
2) However, it is less than 60cm in western Rajasthan and adjoining parts of
Gujarat, Haryana and Punjab.
3) Rainfall is equally low in the interior of Deccan Plateau and east of
Sahyadris.
4) A third area of lower precipitation is around Leh in Jammu and Kashmir.
The rest of the country receives moderate rainfall. Snowfall is restricted
to the Himalayan region.

Q11. ‘Monsoon’ is a unifying bond. Explain.

1) The Indian landscape, its animal and plant life of the people, including
their festivities, revolve around the phenomenon.
2) Year after year, people of India from north to south and from east to
west eagerly await the arrival of the monsoon.
3) These monsoon winds bind the whole country by providing water to set
the agricultural activities in motion.

Q12. What do you mean by breaks in monsoon?

1) Another phenomenon associated with the monsoon is the tendency to

have breaks in the rainfall.
2) The monsoon rains take place only for a few days at a time. They are
interspaced with rainless intervals.
3) These breaks in the monsoon are related to the movement of the
monsoon trough.
4) For various reasons, the trough and its axis keep on moving northward or
southward which determines the spatial distribution of rainfall.

Q13. ‘India lives in region of North-easterly winds hence India should have
been an arid land. ’Explain.

1) North easterly winds originate from subtropical high pressure bolt of the
northern hemisphere.
2) They blow south and move towards equatorial low pressure area.
3) Generally these winds carry very little moisture as they originate and
blow over land. Therefore, they bring little or no rain.
 Conclusion: As India lies in regions of north easterly winds. India should
have been an arid land.

Q14. What do you mean by western cyclonic differences?

a) They are weather phenomenon of winter months brought by westerly

flow of Mediterranean region.
b) They usually influence the weather of north and north-western regions
of India.

Q15. What are characteristics of Indian monsoon?

1) Uneven Distribution of Rainfall: 80% of rainfall occurs between June-

September.
2) Highly erratic and unreliable as monsoon depends on formation of
cyclones.
3) Heavy downpours combined with rainless intervals are also a feature of
it.

Q16. Why is bulk of rainfall In India concentrated over few months?

Ans. Bulk of rainfall in India is concentrated over few months because during
this period the rain bearing winds called southwest monsoon blow northwest
in two branches :-Arabian Sea & Bay of Bengal. As these winds originate over
oceans they cause heavy rainfall.

Q17. Why are parts of Rajasthan, Gujarat & leeward sides of Western Ghats
prone to drought?

 Parts of Rajasthan are prone to drought because Aravallis lie parallel to

direction of monsoon winds. Hence rainfall does not occur.
 Parts of Gujarat are prone to draught because there are no hills or
mountain ranges.
 Parts of Western Ghats are prone to draught because the moisture laden
winds shed their maximum moisture on windward area.

Q18. Why does Tamil Nadu coast receive rainfall in winter?

Ans. Tamil Nadu coast receives rainfall in winter because retreating dry
southwest monsoon winds on their way back, pick moisture from Bay of Bengal
and cause rainfall.
Q19. In spite of abundant rainfall India is water thirsty. Why?

1) 75% to 90% rainfall is concentrated over 4 months.

2) Rapid runoff and quick evaporation of water.
3) Long breaks and delays in monsoon.

Q20. Why does Mawsynram receive maximum rainfall in the world?

1) The Bay of Bengal branch of southwest monsoon strikes Garo, Khasi and
Jaintia hills of Meghalaya.
2) Hence, it is a unique topographical location of Mawsynram which causes
highest rainfall here.
Q21. Differentiate between southwest and northeast monsoon.

Southwest Monsoon Northeast Monsoon

a)They are seasonal winds a)They are trade winds
b)They blow during summer b)They blow during winter
c)Move from sea to land C)Move from land to sea