NCERT Solutions
Class 9 Social Science
Climate

Q.2
Answer the following questions briefly.
(1) What are the factors affecting the climate of India?
(2) Why does India have a monsoon type of climate?
(3) Which part of India does experience the highest diurnal range of temperature and why?
(4) Which winds account for rainfall along the Malabar Coast?
(5) What are Jet streams and how do they affect the climate of India?
(6) Define monsoons. What do you understand by “break” in monsoon?
(7) Why is the monsoon considered a unifying bond?
(1) The factors affecting the climate of India are as follows:
- Latitude: The Tropic of Cancer passes through the middle of the country from the Rann of Kachchh in the west to Mizoram in the east. So, almost half of the country, lying south of the Tropic of Cancer, belongs to the tropical area and north of the Tropic of Cancer lies in the subtropical climates. Therefore, India has characteristics of tropical as well as subtropical climates.
- Altitude: The Himalayas (average height 6,000 metres) to the north of India prevent the cold winds from Central Asia from entering the subcontinent. Also, India has a vast coastal area where the maximum elevation is about 30 meters. Therefore, the Indian subcontinent experiences comparatively milder winters as compared to central Asia.
Pressure and Winds: The climate of India is strongly influenced by monsoon winds. The climate and weather conditions in India are governed by pressure and surface winds, upper air circulation and Western cyclonic disturbances and tropical cyclones.
(2)
India has a monsoon type of climate, which is characterised by a distinct seasonal pattern. The change in weather conditions from one season to the other season is particularly noticeable in the interior parts of India. There are variations not only in the form and types of precipitation but also in its amount and the seasonal distribution.
The coastal areas do not experience much variation in temperature because there is variation in rainfall pattern. There are four main seasons that can be identified in India- the cold weather season, the hot weather season, the advancing monsoon and the retreating monsoon with some regional variation. Most of the parts of the country receive rainfall from June to September but some parts like the Tamil Nadu coast get a large portion of its rain during October and November. So, we can say that the climate of India is strongly influenced by monsoon winds.
(3) The Diurnal range of temperature or the Diurnal temperature variation is defined as the very high temperature differences during the same day. So, in India, the Thar Desert in Rajasthan experiences the highest diurnal range of temperature because there is no sea near to it. Therefore, this place does not have moderating influences on the climate. As in the Thar Desert, the temperature difference between day and night time during the same day may vary from 350- 400C.
(4) The Southwest monsoon winds account for rainfall along the Malabar coast. These winds blow over the warm oceans, gather moisture and bring widespread rainfall over the mainland of India.
(5)
A narrow belt of high altitude (above 12,000 m) westerly winds in the troposphere, known as the Jet streams. The speed of Jet streams varies from about 110km/h in summer to about 184km/h in winter. Jet Streams are located approximately over 270-300 north latitude and known as subtropical westerly Jet streams and approximately over 140N, known as sub-tropical easterly jet streams.
The climate of India affects by the Jet streams as follows:
- Subtropical westerly Jet streams blow south of the Himalayas, all through the year except in summer.
- The western cyclonic disturbances experienced in the north and north-western parts of the country are brought in by the subtropical westerly Jet streams.
- The sub-tropical easterly Jet Stream blows over peninsular India during the summer months.
(6) The word “monsoon” originated from the Arabic word “mausim”, which means season.
- A seasonal change in the direction of strongest or prevailing winds of a region is known as Monsoon.
- The monsoon has dry and wet spells or we can say that the monsoon rains take place only for a few days at a time or interspersed with rainless intervals. This phenomenon is known as “break” in monsoon.
(7) The monsoon plays an important role in binding the entire country by providing water to the Indian subcontinent. The people, animals, birds and trees, all eagerly wait for the arrival of the monsoon. As we know that monsoon winds become blessings for agricultural activities, the river valleys become a single river valley unit after they unite all the water of the monsoon they carry, most of the festivals are also related to this season etc. Therefore, we can say that the monsoon unites the whole country or is considered as a unifying bond.