CLASSI

X-GEOGRAPHY
ASSI
NGMENT
CH-
4CLI
MATE

Question-
1
Whatar et
hecont
rol
saffecti
ngt
hecl
imat
eofIndi
a?
Solut
ion:
Therearesixmaj
orcont
rolsoft
hecl
i
mateofanyplace.Theyar
e:

1.Lati
tude
2.Alti
tude
3.Pressur eandwi ndsy
stem
4.Distancef rom t
hesea(cont
inent
ali
ty)
5.Oceancur rent
s
6.Reli
eff eatures

Question-2
WhydoesI ndiahav eamonsoont ypeofcli
mat e?
Solut
ion:
Themonsoont ypeofcl i
matei scharacter
isedbyadi sti
nctseasonalpatt
ern.Theweat her
condit
ionsgr eatl
ychangef r
om oneseasont otheother.Thesechangesar eparti
cularl
y
noti
ceablei ntheinteri
orpartsoft hecountry.Thecoastalareasdonotexper i
encemuch
var
iati
oni ntemper aturethought hereisvari
ati
oni nr
ainfal
lpatter
ns.Fourmainseasonscan
beidentif
iedinIndia–t hecol d-weatherseason,thehotweat herseason,
theadv ancing
monsoon, andtheretreati
ngmonsoonwi thsomer egionalv
ar i
ati
ons.

Questi
on-3
Whichwindsaccountf
orrai
nfal
lalongtheMal
abarCoast?
Sol
uti
on:
Sur
facewindsaccountforr
ainf
all
alongtheMal
abarcoast.

Question-
4
Whatar eJetst
reamsandhowdot heyaffectthecl
imateofI ndia?
Soluti
on:
Jetstreamsareanarrowbeltofhighalti
tude( abov
e12, 000m)west erl
ywindsinthe
tr
oposphere.Thei
rspeedv ar
iesfrom about110km/ hinsummert oabout184km/ hi
n
winter
.Anumberofsepar atejetstr
eamshav ebeenidentif
ied.Themostconstantist
hemi
d
-l
ati
tudeandthesubtr
opicaljetstr
eam.

OverIndi
a, t
hesejetstr
eamsbl owsout hoftheHimal ayas,
allt
hroughthey earex ceptin
summer .Thewest erncycl
onicdist
urbancesexperiencedinthenorthandnor thwest er
n
part
soft hecount r
yarebroughtinbythiswester
lyf l
ow.Insummer ,thesubtropicalwester
ly
j
etstream mov esnorthoftheHi mal
ayaswiththeappar entmovementoft hesun.An
east
erlyjetstr
eam, cal
ledthetropi
caleast
erlyj
etstream blowsoverpeninsularIndia,
approxi
mat el
yov er14°Nduringthesummermont hs.

Quest
ion-
5
Definemonsoons.Whatdoy ouunderstandby“ br
eaks”inmonsoon?
Soluti
on:
Theseasonal rever
salinwinddir
ect
ionduringay eatiscal
l
edt hemonsoon.Monsoontends
tohav e‘br
eaks’i
nrainfal
l
;whichmeanst hattherearewetanddr yspel
l
sinbet
weenThe
monsoonr ai
nstakeplaceonlyf
oraf ewday satatimeandt hencomet ot
herai
nless
i
ntervals.

Question-6
Whyist hemonsoonconsi deredauni f
yingbond?
Solut
ion:
Despit
egr eatmoder at
inginf
luencesont hecli
mat eofIndi
a,t
herear
egr
eatvar
iat
ionsinthe
temperaturecondit
ions.Nevertheless,t
heuni f
yinginfl
uenceoft
hemonsoonontheI ndi
an
subcontinenti
squitepercepti
ble.Theseasonal alt
erat
ionoft
hewindsy
stemsandt he
associatedweathercondit
ionspr ovidear hy
thmi ccycl
eofseasons.

Question-7
Whydoest herainfalldecr
easef rom theeastt othewesti nNor thernI
ndia?
Solut
ion:
Thewest erncoastandnor theasternIndiareceiv
eov erabout400cm ofr ai
nfal
lannuall
y.
Howev er,i
tislesst han60cm i nwest ernRajasthanandadj oi
ningpartsofGujarat
,Haryana,
andPunj ab.Rainfalli
sequal l
ylowi ntheinteri
oroft heDeccanpl at
eau,andeastofthe
Sahyadris.Thet hi
rdar eaoflowpr ecipit
ati
onisar oundLehi nJammuandKashmi r.Therest
ofthecount r
yr eceivesmoder aterainfal
l.

Snowfalli
sr estr
ict
edtot heHi malayanregion.Owi ngt
othenatureofmonsoons,t
heannual
rai
nfal
li
shi ghlyvari
ablefrom yeartoy ear.Variabi
li
tyi
shighint
heregi
onsoflowrainf
all
suchaspar tsofRajasthan, Guj
aratandt heleewar dsi
deoftheWester
nGhats.Assuch,
whilear
easofhi ghr ai
nfallareli
abletobeaf fectedbyfl
oods,ar
easoflowrai
nfal
lare
drought
-prone.

Quest ion-8
Giver easonsast owhy .
(i
)Thebul kofr ainf
allinIndiai sconcent ratedov erafewmont hs.
(i
i)TheTami lNaducoastr eceiveswi nterr ai
nfall.
(i
ii
)Thedel t
ar egionoft heeast erncoasti sf r
equent lyst
ruckbycy clones.
(i
v)Par tsofRaj asthan, Gujarat,andt heleewar dsi deoft heWest ernGhat saredrought -prone.
Solution:
(i
)Thebul kofr ainf
allinIndiai sconcent ratedov erafewmont hs
Thei nflowoft hesout h-westmonsooni ntoIndi abr i
ngsaboutat otalchangei ntheweat her.
Earlyint heseason, thewi ndwar dsideoft heWest er
nGhat sreceivesv eryheav yrainfal
l,
mor et han250cm.TheDeccanPl ateauandpar tsofMadhy aPr adeshal soreceivesome
amountofr aini nspiteofly i
ngi nther ainshadowar ea.Themaxi mum r ainf
allofthisseason
i
sr eceiv edi
nt henor th-
east ernpar tofthecount r y
.Mawsy nram i nthesout hernrangesof
theKhasi Hi
llsreceivest hehi ghestav erager ainfalli
nthewor ld.Rai nf
allintheGangav alley
decreasesf rom t heeastt ot hewest .Raj asthanandpar tsofGuj aratgetscant yrainfall
.

(i
i
)TheTamilNaducoastr eceiv
eswinterrai
nfal
l
Acharact
eri
sti
cfeatur
eoft hecoldweatherseasonoverthenor
ther
nplai
nsist
heinfl
owof
cycl
oni
cdist
urbancesfrom thewestandthenor t
hwest.Thesel
ow-pr
essur
esystems,
origi
nateov ertheMedi t
erraneanSeaandwest er
nAsi aandmov ei ntoIndi
a,alongwiththe
westerlyflow.Theycauset hemuch-neededwi nt
errainsovert hepl ai
nsandsnowf allint
he
mount ains.Alt
hought hetot al
amountofwi nterrai
nfalll
ocallyknownas‘ mahawat’issmall
,
theyareofi mmensei mpor tanceforthecult
ivati
onof‘ r
abi’crops.Thepeni nsularr
egion
doesnothav eawel l
-defi
nedcol dseason.Thereishardlyanynot iceableseasonalchangein
temper aturepatt
ernsduringwi nt
ersduetot hemoder ati
ngi nfl
uenceoft hesea.

(i
ii
)Thedel tar egionoft heeast erncoasti sf requent l
yst ruckbycy clones
Thel ow-pressur econditions,overnor thwest er nIndi
a, gett r
ansferr edtotheBayofBengal by
earl
yNov ember .Thisshifti
sassoci atedwi t
ht heoccur renceofcy cloni
cdepressions,whi
ch
ori
ginateov ert heAndamanSea.Thesecy cl
onesgener allycrosst heeasterncoastsofIndia
causeheav yandwi despreadr ain.Theset ropi calcyclonesar eof tenv erydestr
uctiv
e.The
thi
cklypopul ateddel tasoftheGodav ar i
,theKr i
shnaandt heKav eri ar
efrequentl
ystruckby
cyclones,whi chcausegr eatdamaget ol i
feandpr operty .Sometimes, t
hesecyclonesarri
ve
atthecoast sofOr issa,WestBengal andBangl adesh.

(i
v)PartsofRajast
han,Gujaratandt heleewardsideoft heWesternGhat saredrought
-prone
Owingt othenatur
eofmonsoons, theannual r
ainfal
l i
shighl
yvari
ablefrom yeartoyear.
Vari
abili
tyishi
ghintheregionsoflowr ainfal
lsuchaspar tsofRajast
han, Gujar
atandthe
l
eewar dsideoftheWesternGhat s.Assuch, whil
ear easofhighrainf
all
ar el
iablet
obe
aff
ectedbyf l
oods,ar
easofl owrainfall
aredrought -
prone.

Quest ion-9
Descr i
bet her egi
onal variat
ionsinthecl i
mat iccondit
ionsofI ndi
awi ththehelpofsuit
able
exampl es.
Solution:
Despi t
eanov erallunit
yi nthegeneral patter
n, t
herearepercept i
bleregional
vari
ati
onsi n
cli
mat iccondi ti
onswi t
hi nthecountry.Thet woi mportantelement s,
whi chcausethese
vari
ations, are–t emper atureandpr ecipi
tati
on.
Forexampl e,insummer , t
hemer curyoccasi onall
ytouches50° Cinsomepar tsofthe
Rajasthandeser t
, whereasi tmaybear ound20° CinPahalgam i nJammuandKashmi r.Ona
winterni ght,t
het emper atureatDrassi nJammuandKashmi rmaybeasl owasmi nus45°C.
Tir
uv anant hapuram, ont heotherhand, mayhav eatemper atureof20° C.

Question-10
Discussthemechani
sm ofmonsoons.
Soluti
on:
Tounder standt
hemechani
sm oft
hemonsoons,
thef
oll
owi
ngf
act
sar
eimpor
tant
.

 Thedi
ff
erent
ial
heat
ingandcool
i
ngofl
andandwat
ercr
eat
eal
owpr
essur
eon
thelandmassofI ndiawhi letheseasar oundexperi
encecompar ati
velyhigh
pressure.
 Thes hif
tofthepositionofI nter-
TropicalConver
genceZone(ITCZ)i nsummer,
overtheGangapl ain(thisistheequat ori
altr
oughnormall
ypositionedabout
5°Noft heequator–al soknownast hemonsoont roughdur
ingt hemonsoon
season).
 Thepr esenceofthehi gh-pressurearea,eastofMadagascar,
appr oximatel
y
20°Sov ertheIndi
anOcean.Thei nt
ensityandposit
ionofthi
shigh-pressure
areaaffecttheIndi
anMonsoon.
  TheTi
bet
anpl
ateauget
sint
ensel
yheat
eddur
ingsummer
,whi
chr
esul
tsi
n
strongver
ti
calai
rcur
rentsandt heformati
onofhighpressur
eovertheplateau
atabout9km abovesealevel.
 Themov ementofthewesterlyj
etstream t
othenorthoftheHimalayasandt he
presenceofthet
ropi
caleasterl
yjetstr
eam overt
heIndianpeni
nsuladuri
ng
summer .

Question-
11
Giveanaccountofweat hercondi tionsandchar act
eri
sti
csoft hecol dseason.
Soluti
on:
Theweat hercondit
ionsgr eatl
ychangef r
om oneseasont otheot her .Thesechangesar e
parti
cular
lynoti
ceableinthei nteriorpartsofthecountry
.Thecoast al areasdonot
experi
encemuchv ari
ati
oni nt emper aturethoughtherei
sv ari
ationi nrainfallpatter
ns.The
coldweatherseasonbegi nsf rom mi d-Nov emberinnorthernIndiaandst ay sti
llFebruar
y.
DecemberandJanuar yaret hecol destmont hsinthenorthernpar tofI ndia.Thet emperatur
e
decreasesfrom t
hesout ht othenor th.Theav er
agetemperatureofChennai ,ontheeastern
coast,i
sbetween24°–25°Cel sius,whileinthenort
hernplains,itrangesbet ween10°–15°
Celsi
us.Daysarewar m andni ghtsar ecold.Frosti
scommoni nt henor t
handt hehigher
sl
opesoft heHimal ayasex periencesnowf al
l
.

Quest i
on-12
Givethechar acter
isti
csandef fect
soft hemonsoonr ainfalli
nIndia.
Soluti
on:
TheMonsoon, unli
ket hetrades,arenotsteadywi ndsbutar epulsati
nginnat
ure,affect
edby
di
fferentatmospher icconditi
onsencounteredbyi t,onitswayov erthewarmt r
opicalseas.
Thedur ati
onoft hemonsooni sbetween100-120day sf r
om earlyJunetomid-
September .
Aroundt hetimeofi tsarr
ival
,thenormal rai
nfalli
ncreasessuddenl yandcont
inues
constantlyforseveraldays.Thisisknownast he‘burst
’ ofthemonsoonandcanbe
di
stinguishedfrom thepre-monsoonshower s.

Themonsoonar ri
vesatthesoutherntipoftheIndianpeninsul
ageneral
lybyt
hefir
stweekof
June.Subsequentl
y,i
tdiv
idesintotwo–t heArabianSeabr anchandtheBayofBengal
branch.TheArabi
anSeabr anchreachesMumbai abouttendayslat
eronapproxi
matel
ythe
10thofJune.Thisisafai
rlyrapi
dadvance.

TheBayofBengalbranchalsoadv ancesrapi
dlyandar
rivesi
nAssam i
nt hef
ir
stweekof
June.Thel
oftymountainscausethemonsoonwi ndst
odef l
ectt
owar
dst hewestoverthe
Gangaplai
ns.Bymid-June,t
heAr abianSeabranchofthemonsoonarr
ivesoverSaurasht
ra-
Kuchchhandthecentralpar
tofthecountry.

TheArabi
anSeaandt heBayofBengal branchesoft hemonsoonmer geovert
he
nort
hwester
npartoftheGangaplains.Delhigeneral
lyrecei
vesthemonsoonshowersfrom
theBayofBengalbr
anchbytheendofJune( t
entati
vedateis29thofJune)
.Bythefi
rst
weekofJuly,
wester
nUt t
arPradesh,Punjab,Haryanaandeast er
nRajast
hanexper
iencethe
monsoon.

Bymi d-
July,t
hemonsoonreachesHi
machal
Pradeshandt herestofthecountr
y .Wi
thdrawal
ortheretr
eatoft
hemonsooni samoregr
adualprocess.Thewithdr
awalofthemonsoon
beginsinthenor
thwest
ernstat
esofI
ndi
abyearlySeptember.Bymid-October
,itwit
hdraws
completel
yfrom thenort
hernhal
fofthepeni
nsula.Thewi
thdr
awal
from t
hesouthernhalfof
thepeni
nsulaisfair
lyr
apid.Byear
lyDecember,
themonsoonhaswithdr
awnfrom therestof
thecountr
y.

Theislandsrecei
vetheveryfi
rstmonsoonshower s,progressiv
elyfrom sout
ht onorth,f
rom
thefi
rstweekofApr i
ltothefi
rstweekofMay .Thewi thdrawaltakesplaceprogressi
vely
from nort
htosouthfrom thefi
rstweekofDecembert ot hefir
stweekofJanuar y.Byt hi
s
ti
met herestofthecountryi
salreadyundert
heinfluenceoft hewintermonsoon.

MapWor
k

Onthegiv
enout li
nemapofI ndia,
showthefol
lowing.
(
i)Areasr
eceivi
ngr ai
nfal
lover400cm.
(
ii
)Areasrecei
vinglessthan20cm ofrai
nfal
l.
(
ii
i)Thedi
recti
onoft hesouth-
westmonsoonov erIndi
a.