CLIMATE

GRADE-9
CHAPTER-4
 CLIMATE
Climate refers to the sum total of
weather conditions and variations over
a large area for a long period of time
(more than thirty years).
 Weather
Weather refers to the state of the
atmosphere over an area at any point of
time.
SUNNY CLOUDY

RAINY
The elements of weather and climate

Temperature
Atmospheric pressure
Wind
Humidity
Precipitation.
 Temperature
Temperature is the amount of heat in a given
area.
Climate
 Atmospheric Pressure
Defined as the force per unit area
exerted against a surface by the weight
of the air above that surface. 
It is measured by using barometer
 Inverse relation of Temperature and
Pressure
• High temperature
• Air will expand and rise up
• Low pressure
• Wind starts to blow from high pressure
to low pressure
 Wind
Moving mass of air

The wind is caused by differences in the

atmospheric pressure.
When a difference in atmospheric pressure
exists, air moves from the higher to the
lower pressure area, resulting in winds of
various speeds.
 Humidity
• Humidity is the concentration of water
vapor present in the air.
• Water vapor, the gaseous state of
water, is generally invisible to the
human eye.
 Precipitation
• It is a form of water from
the atmosphere
• in the form of rain ,snow etc
MONSOON
 Monsoon
• The word monsoon is derived from the
Arabic word ‘mausim’
• which literally means season.
• ‘Monsoon’ refers to the seasonal reversal in
the wind direction during a year.
 CLIMATIC CONTROLS

• Latitude
• Altitude
• Pressure and wind system
• Distance from the sea (continentality)
• Ocean currents and relief features.
• Relief features
 Latitude
• Due to the curvature of the earth, the
amount of solar energy received varies
according to latitude. As a result, air
temperature generally decreases from
the equator towards the poles
Latitude
 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 during summers
The higher the relief ,lower the
temperature
 Pressure and wind system
• The pressure and wind system of any
area depend on the latitude and altitude
of the place. Thus it influences the
temperature and rainfall pattern
 Distance from the sea (continentality)

• The sea exerts a moderating influence

on climate: As the distance from the
sea increases, its moderating influence
decreases and the people experience
extreme weather conditions.
• This condition is known as
continentality (i.e. very hot during
summers and very cold during winters).
 Ocean currents

• Ocean currents along with onshore

winds affect the climate of the coastal
areas
• For example, any coastal area with
warm or cold currents flowing past it,
will be warmed or cooled if the winds
are onshore.
 Relief features
• Relief too plays a major role in
determining the climate of a place.
• 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 mountains remains
relatively dry.
 FACTORS AFFECTING INDIA’S CLIMATE

• Latitude
• Altitude
• Pressure and Winds
 Latitude
• The Tropic of Cancer passes through
the middle of the country from the
Rann of Kuchchh in the west to
Mizoram in the east. Almost half of the
country, lying south of the Tropic of
Cancer, belongs to the tropical area.
• All the remaining area, north of the
Tropic, lies in the sub-tropics.
Therefore, India’s climate has
characteristics of tropical as well as
subtropical climates.
 Altitude

• India has mountains to the north, which

have an average height of about 6,000
metres. India also has a vast coastal
area where the maximum elevation is
about 30 metres.
• The Himalayas prevent the cold winds
from Central Asia from entering the
subcontinent. It is because of these
mountains that this subcontinent
experiences comparatively milder winters
as compared to central Asia.
 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
 Coriolis force
An apparent force caused by the earth’s
rotation.
This Coriolis force is responsible for
deflecting winds towards the right in
the northern hemisphere and towards
the left in the southern hemisphere.
This is also known as ‘Ferrel’s Law’.
• The pressure and wind conditions over India
are unique.
• During winter, there is a high-pressure area
north of the Himalayas.
• Cold dry winds blow from this region to the
low-pressure areas over the oceans to the
south.
• In summer, a low-pressure area develops over
interior Asia as well as over northwestern
India.
• This causes a complete reversal of the
direction of winds during summer.
• Air moves from the high-pressure area
over the southern Indian Ocean, in a
south-easterly direction, crosses the
equator, and turns right towards the
low-pressure areas over the Indian
subcontinent.
• These are known as the Southwest
Monsoon winds. These winds blow
over the warm oceans, gather moisture
and bring widespread rainfall over the
mainland of India
 Jet stream
These are a narrow belt of high altitude
(above 12,000 m) westerly winds in the
troposphere.
Their speed varies from about 110 km/h
in summer to about 184 km/h in winter
A number of separate jet streams have
been identified.
The most constant are the mid-latitude
and the sub tropical jet stream.
 Western Cyclonic Disturbances

These are weather phenomena of the winter

months brought in by the westerly flow from
the Mediterranean region.
They usually influence the weather of the north
and north-western regions of India.
specifically the ones in winter, bring moderate to
heavy rain in low-lying areas and heavy snow
to mountainous areas of
the Indian Subcontinent
 Tropical cyclones
occur during the monsoon as well as in
October November, and are part of the
easterly flow.
These disturbances affect the coastal
regions of the country.
 Mechanism of the monsoon- Important
facts
• The differential heating and cooling of land
and water
• The shift of the position of Inter Tropical
Convergence Zone (ITCZ)
• The presence of the high-pressure area, east
of Madagascar
• The Tibetan plateau gets intensely heated
during summer
• The movement of the jet streams
 The differential heating and cooling of land and water

creates low pressure on the landmass of

India while the seas around experience
comparatively high pressure
The shift of the position of Inter Tropical Convergence Zone
(ITCZ)

In summer, over the Ganga plain (this

is the equatorial trough normally
positioned about 5°N of the equator. It
is also known as the monsoontrough
during the monsoon season).
The presence of the high-pressure area,
east of Madagascar
Approximately at 20°S over the Indian
Ocean. The intensity and position of
this high-pressure area affects the
Indian Monsoon
The Tibetan plateau gets intensely heated during summer

• during summer, which results in strong

vertical air currents and the formation
of low pressure over the plateau at
about 9 km above sea level.
 The movement of the jet streams

• The movement of the westerly jet

stream to the north of the Himalayas
and the presence of the tropical
easterly jet stream over the Indian
peninsula during summer
• The burst of monsoons depends upon the upper
air circulation which is dominated by Sub Tropical
Jet Streams (STJ).
• The south west monsoon coming in India is
related to tropical easterly stream. It blows
between 8 degree- 35 degree North latitudes.
• The north east monsoon (winter monsoon) is
related to the subtropical westerly Jet Stream
which blows between 20 degree and 35 degree
latitudes in both hemispheres.
 Inter Tropical Convergence Zone

• The Inter Tropical Convergence Zone

(ITCZ,) is a broad trough of low
pressure in equatorial latitudes. This is
where the northeast and the southeast
trade winds converge. This
convergence zone lies more or less
parallel to the equator but moves north
or south with the apparent movement
of the sun.
Southern Oscilation or SO
Normal-Tropical eastern south Pacific
Ocean experiences-high Pressure,the
tropical eastern Indian Ocean experiences-
low pressure
Certain years reversal in the pressure
conditions and the eastern Pacific has low
pressure in comparison to the eastern
Indian Ocean
• The diffenences in pressure over
Tahiti(Pacific ocean)and Darwin in
northern Australia (Indian Ocean) is
computed to predict the intensity of the
monsoon.
• If the pressure differences were
negative,it would mean below and late
monsoon.
 El Nino
This is a name given to the periodic
development of a warm ocean current
along the coast of Peru as a temporary
replacement of the cold Peruvian
current.
‘El Nino’ is a Spanish word meaning ‘the
child’, and refers to the baby Christ, as
this current starts flowing during
Christmas.
• The presence of the El Nino leads to an
increase in sea-surface temperatures
and weakening of the trade winds in the
region.
 THE ONSET OF THE
MONSOON
• Pulsating in nature
• The duration of the monsoon is
between 100-120 days from early June
to mid-September
 • ‘burst’
• Around the time of its arrival, the
normal rainfall increases suddenly and
continues constantly for several days
• it proceeds into two – the Arabian Sea
branch and the Bay of Bengal branch.
 Path of monsoon
Arabian sea branch Bay of Bengal Branch
.Arrives by first week of First week of June–Assm
june Delhi-Tentatively 29th of june
. Mumbai-20th june
.Mid June-Saurashtra- Both branches merge over-
western part of Ganga
Kuchchh,Central part
plain
First week of July-Western
UP,Punjab,Haryana,Eastern
Rajasthan
Mid July-Himachal Pradesh
and rest of the country
Withdrawal or the Retreat of Monsoon

Early september-North western states

Mid-October-Completely from northern
half of peninsula
Early December-Rest of the country
 THE SEASONS
The monsoon type of climate is
characterised by a distinct seasonal
pattern. The weather conditions greatly
change from one season to the other.
(a) The Cold Weather Season (Winter)
(b)The Hot Weather Season (Summer
(c)Advancing Monsoon (The Rainy Season)
(d)Retreating/Post Monsoons (The
Transition
Season)
The Cold Weather Season (Winter)
 Begins from mid November in northern India
and stays till February.
Temperature Northern Plains-10-15 Degree
Celcious
Coastal Plain Chennai-24 -25 degree C
• We can see falling snow and freezing cold
temperatures
• During this season strong winds also blow all
around
• Winter Season generally lasts for three months
• This season has short days and longer nights
• People wear thick clothes during Winter
The Hot Weather Season (Summer)
• Global heat belt shifts northwards
• March-May
• Deccan plateau-38Degree C-March
• April-45 Degree c-Gujarat&MP
• May-45Degree C-North western parts
• Loo-Striking feature
 Loo
• Strong ,gusty,hot dry winds
• Blowing during day-north &north western
India
• Continue until late in the evening
• Lower temperature
• Bring light rain&cool breeze
• Localised thunderstorm with violent
winds
• Torrential downpour
• West Bengal-Kaal Baisakhi
• End of summer pre monsoon showers
are common
• Kerala,Karnataka
• Referred as mango showers
 Advancing Monsoon (The Rainy
Season)
(i) It brings a total change in weather
conditions.
(ii) Early in the season of advancing
monsoon, the windward side of
Western Ghats receives very heavy
rainfall(more than 250cm)The maximum
rainfall of this season occurs in North-
Eastern India.
.
(iii) It has wet and dry spells. The
intervening dry period is called ‘Breaks’
in monsoon.
(iv) The monsoon is known for its
uncertainties, and the spatial
distribution of rainfall is uneven
 Retreating/Post Monsoons (The
Transition Season)
• During October and November, the
south-west monsoon winds become
weaker and start retreating.
• The retreat of the monsoon is marked
by clear skies and an increase in
mercury level in the northern plains.
• Cyclonic depressions originates over
Andaman sea
• Cause heavy &widespread rain
• Very destructive
• Deltaic regions are frequently struck by
cyclones
• Great damage to life and property
DISTRIBUTION OF RAINFALL
• Western coast &Northeastern India-400cm
annually
• Less than 60cm- Western Rajasthan,parts
of Gujarat,Haryana&Punjab
• Low in Deccan plateau &eastof Sahyadris
• Low –Jammu&Kashmir
• Increased rainfall-Flood
• Areas of low-Drought prone
MONSOON AS A UNIFYING BOND
• Year after year, the people of India from North to
South and from East to West eagerly await the
arrival of the monsoon.
• These monsoon winds bind the whole country by
providing water to set the agricultural activities.
• Thus, in view of the above
the monsoon is considered as a unifying bond for
this subcontinent.
THANKS