Notes

Climate
#Chapter 3
#Indian Climate
#Notes

#Climate and weather
Climate refers to the atmospheric conditions that prevails on a large area over a long period of time.
Weather refers to day-to-day condition of climate on a small area .
1. India has tropical monsoon type climate.
2. The term monsoon is derived from a word 'mausim' meaning 'season'
3. The temperature varies from region to region due to the vastness of the country and topographical differences.
4. The northern part of India which lies beyond the Tropic of Cancer (23 1/2^degrees) experience continental or extreme type of climate that is too hot in summer and too cold in winter this is due to the distance from the sea. The northern part of India lies away from the influence of the sea.
5. Southern part of India that is the region south of tropic of cancer experience equable, maritime and oceanic type (neither too hot nor too cold) of climate because they lie close to the sea.

#Monsoon Winds :-
Monsoon winds are those which blows from sea to land (onshore) in one season and from land to sea (offshore) in another season.

#A dominant feature of monsoon winds :-
A complete reversal of direction of winds.

#Factors affecting climate of India :-
a) Latitude :- As one moves away from the equator the colder it gets as the rays of the sun gets more oblique. Hence the places in Southern India like Kochi, Chennai, Bangalore and others are warmer than the place in the Northern India like Delhi, Agra, Srinagar and others due to the proximity to the equator.
b) Altitude :- The higher one goes above the sea level the colder it gets as the atmosphere is heated from below. Hence places at a higher altitude(Hill Stations) like Shimla, Darjeeling, Mussoorie, Panchgani and other are cooler than the places like Lucknow, Prayagraj, Bhopal, Mumbai, Jaipur and others.
{Note :- For every 1000m ascent there is a drop of 6^degree C.}
c) Distance from the sea :- The farther one moves away from the sea the higher will be the range of temperature. Hence ,the places like Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata have equable type of climate due to the moderate influence of the sea while the places further inland like Pune, Hydrabad, Amritsar, Indore have continental type of climate.
d) Himalayas :- The walls of Himalayas protect the Northern plains of India from bitterly cold that originates near the Arctic circle over the central Asia. Thus, the Himalayas prevent the Northern plains from severity of cold.
The mountain walls also intercepts the moisture laden wall which causes plenty of rainfall to most parts of the country from June to September.