Name: Syeda Rubab

Roll no# BSSEC-19-78

Topic:

Monsoon Winds:
The term “ Monsoon ” is said to be derived the Arabic world “Mouisim” meaning “Season”.
This term was first applied to the winds over the northern Indian Ocean, which blow for the
approximately 6 months from the north-east (land to sea) and for 6 month from the south (sea to
land).

Cause of Monsoon:
The unequal heating and cooling of land and water areas cause the monsoons. During summer,
when the land has become quite hot, the contiguous ocean areas area are relatively cooler. The
air of the land rises up in the form of convectional currents, and to replace it would flow in the
moist air of oceans. During winter the condition is just reverse.

Important Monsoon Areas of the World:

Owing to the greater size of continent, and consequently the greater seasonal extreme of
temperature, southern and eastern Asia is considered to be the best classical monsoon region.
The two principle monsoon system operate in South Asia Thailand etc. but the system are
essentially separate.

South Asian Monsoon:

The most notable environmental event each year in Indian peninsula is the annual of the summer
(wet) monsoon. Prominent onshore winds spiral into south Asia Indian Ocean, bringing life
giving rains to the parched sub-continent. They are known as summer or wet monsoon.

i. The summer or wet Monsoon.

This air has passed above most of the warm tropical Indian Ocean, and therefore, now
possesses a very high moisture content. The arrival of the saturated air over the Indian
Sub-continent marks the onset of the wet summer monsoon and precipitation is frequent
and heavy. Cherrapunji (north-eastern India), situated in this region, in 1861, received
930 cm (30 feet) of rainfall, during the month of july.
ii. The Arabian Sea Branch.
iii. A main westerly current from over the Arabian seas meets to the western Ghats and the
lower Indus Valley at nearly right angles and flows across peninsular India. These winds
flow penetrate western areas of India and southern Pakistan.

iv. Bay of Bengal Branch

Another main branch penetrates the Bay of Bengal of Bangladesh and north-eastern
India. This branch is further pushed westward into densely population Ganges Plain of
northern India by the Himalayas mountain wall. These wet-monsoon rains, however, are
not continuous, even during the wettest of years. They depend on smaller scale low-
pressure cells. These depression reinforce the lifting of the moist air and enhance the
information of rain throughout the summer months.

The Winter or Dry monsoon:

In the winter, Indian Sub-continent is dominated by out blowing dry air diverging
generally from the north-east. The offshore winds of winter are associated with the dry
monsoon. In January, high pressure over the interior of southern Asia, produce north-
easterly surface. Winds for much of the region. The cool continental air contains very
little moisture.

The East Asian Monsoon:

Winter is more prominent season in East Asian monsoonal System, which primarily
affects China, Korea and Japan. The winter monsoon in China, Japan is also much
stronger than that of summer. The velocities of the mean resultant surface wind along the
coasts being several times greater in January than in June. The wind largely from the
north-west and is associated with anticyclone and creates massive high- pressure cell over
western China.

The Local Winds:

Due to the local difference of unequal heating and cooling, heterogeneity of earth’s relief
or distribution of land and water, certain winds are caused, which are found in many
areas even areas within winds belts of the world. These are known as local winds, some
of them are as under:

Land & Sea Breeze:

Land and sea breezes are, in fact, monsoons on a smaller scale, which caused by
differential heating of land and water in diurnal (daily) rhythm. During the day, the lands
get heated up much faster than the sea. Warm air rises up forming a low pressure. The sea
remains comparatively cool with a higher pressure. So a seas breeze blows in from sea to
land. Its speed and strength is between 8 to 32 km/h (5 to 20 mi/h) and it is generally
stronger in tropical than temperature regions. Its impact is often with 25 km (15 mi) from
the coast. It is most deeply felt, when one stands facing the sea in a coast resort.
At night, the reverse take place.

Valley & Mountain Breeze.

These winds are also subject to the temperature differences between adjacent topographic
features. During the day, the mountain slopes. This cause low pressure to develop,
spawning an up slopping valley breeze. At night, greater radiative loss from the
mountain-slopes cools them more sharply, high pressure develops and a down-slopping
mountain breeze results.

Valley breeze are particularly prominent in summer, when solar heating is most intense.
Mountain breeze on the other hand, are often weakly developed in summer and are likely
to be more prominent in winter. Indeed, a frequent winter phenomenon in areas of even
gentle slope is air drainage, which is simply the night-time sliding of cold are down-slope
to collect in the lowest spots; this a modified form of mountain breeze. These winds are
called “Katabatic Winds”.

Glacier Winds:

These winds develop in the cave- like opening at the lower end of the glacier. These blow
outlawed in summer and inward in winter, such winds become very dangerous, when
they are fast.

Whirlwinds:
The winds that move in a whirling column and are quite violent. They are formed by
convectional currents, tending to rise above in the shape of whirling column. They are
most dominant in afternoon. And the least in the early morning. These are numerous over
the barren surfaces and desert areas.

Foehn/Chinook Winds:
These winds develop only, when certain pressure conditions prevail. Normally a
significant low pressure trough on the leeward side of the mountains, that pulls air over
the range down the leeward slope. Under these conditions, the air is dry and relatively
warm.
The Berg & Bora Winds:
The Berg blows on the coasts of south Africa plateau. When the plateau becomes hot, its
air is warmed and it slips down as hot dry winds, known as “Berg winds”. The Bora is
also a cold and dense air descends down in the Adriatic Sea region during the winter
season. The air is down and makes weather cold and foggy. This is known as “Bora
winds”.
The mistral Winds:
The mistral is a cold dry wind, which rushes from the central plateau of France towards
the Gulf of Lyons, through the valley of Rohne. This is produced by a cyclone over the
gulf of Lyons and an anticyclone over the snow-covered south-east of France.

The Simoom & Sirocco Winds:

These are hot, dry and dusty winds, which blow out from the Sahara (Africa) towards the
Mediterranean. They are as “simoom” in the Sahara and North Africa, but on crossing the
Mediterranean Sea, they become humid and therefore, oppressive when they reach Italy
Europe, they are called “Sirocco”.

Miscellaneous Local Winds:

The “Taku” of south-eastern Alaska, khamsins of Egypt and Harmattan and brick-fielders
of Australia are also some important local winds. In many locations, local winds can
more prominent role than large-scale air-flows. But the regional expressions of the global
system of winds currents, still play a far more important role overall.