Question

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

Answer 1

• The six major factors affecting the climate of a location are relief features, ocean currents, distance from the sea, wind and pressure system, altitude, latitude.
• In Thar desert, the temperature at night drops to near 15°C and during the day time
• the temperature may rise to 50°C.
• During the same day, the variation between a low temperature and a high air temperature is known as Diurnal temperature variation.
• On the contrary, there is a very small difference or no difference in night and day temperatures in the state of Kerala or in the Andaman and Nicobar islands.
• People experience extreme weather conditions, as the distance from the sea increases.
• Sea has a moderating influence on the climate.
• The moderating influence on the climate of a location reduces as the distance between the sea and a location increases.
• Continentality is the term that is used to describe this condition.
• Hence there is a huge variation in places like Thar desert as the distance between Thar desert and sea is very high, on the other hand, coastal areas of Kerala, Karnataka, Goa etc do not have very high variation in temperature on the same day.
• The annual precipitation is less than 10 cm in Western Rajasthan and Ladakh, whereas in Meghalaya the annual precipitation is over 400 cm.
• In the Northern plains, there is generally a decrease in rainfall from East to West.
• This reduction in rainfall is due to reduction in moisture content in the winds.
• Precipitation varies in seasonal distribution, varies in amount, form and types.
• Unlike the trades, the monsoon is pulsating in nature and they are not steady winds.
• Within the country, with respect to the climatic conditions, there are perceptible regional variations, although the general pattern has an overall unity.