Chapter 4 – Climate Solutions
Question - 11 : - (i) Name two rainiest stations.
(ii) Name two driest stations.
(iii) Two stations with most equable climate.
(iv) Two stations with most extreme climate.
(v) Two stations most influenced by the Arabian branch of southwest monsoons.
(vi) Two stations most influenced by the Bay of Bengal branch of south-west monsoons.
(vii) Two stations influenced by both branches of the south-west monsoons
(viii) Two stations influenced by retreating and north-east monsoons.
(ix) Two stations receiving winter showers from the western disturbances.
(x) The two hottest stations in the months of
(a) February (b) April (c) May (d) June
Answer - 11 : -
(i) Two rainiest stations: Shillong and Mumbai
(ii) Two driest stations: Leh and Jodhpur
(iii) Two stations with most equable climate: Bangalore and Tiruvanantapuram
(iv) Two stations with most extreme climate: Leh and Jodhpur
(v) Two stations most influenced by the Arabian branch of southwest monsoons: Tiruvanatapuram and Mumbai
(vi) Two stations most influenced by the Bay of Bengal branch of south-west monsoons: Shillong and Kolkata
(vii) Two stations influenced by both branches of the south-west monsoons: Delhi and Kolkata
(viii) Two stations influenced by retreating and north-east monsoons: Chennai and Bangalore
(ix) Two stations receiving winter showers from the western disturbances: Jodhpur and Delhi
(x) The two hottest stations −
(a) In the month February: Tiruvanatapuram and Chennai
(b) In the month April: Nagpur and Kolkata
(c) In the month of May: Nagpur and Jodhpur
(d) In the month of June: Jodhpur and Delhi
Question - 12 : - Now find out:
(i) Why are Tiruvanantapuram and Shillong rainier in June than in July?
(ii) Why is July rainier in Mumbai than in Tiruvanantapuram?
(iii) Why are south-west monsoons less rainy in Chennai?
(iv) Why is Shillong rainier than Kolkata?
(v) Why is Kolkata rainier in July than in June unlike Shillong which is rainier in June than in July?
(vi) Why does Delhi receive more rain than Jodhpur?
Answer - 12 : -
(i) The south-west monsoons hit Tiruvanantapuram and Shillong around the first of June. Tiruvanantapuram receives rain from the Arabian Sea branch while Shillong receives rain from the Bay of Bengal branch. After causing rains in these regions, these two branches keep moving on to the other parts of the country (the Arabian Sea Branch moves from south-west to north-east, while the Bay of Bengal branch moves from north-east to north-west). As a result, these regions receive lesser rainfall in the months succeeding June.
(ii) The Arabian Sea branch of the south-west monsoons reaches Tiruvanantapuram around the first of June. It reaches Mumbai around the tenth of June. So, Tiruvanantapuram receives much of its rainfall in the month of June, while Mumbai receives much of its rainfall in the month of July.
(iii) Chennai lies on the leeward side of the Western Ghats, and far away from the western coast. The Arabian Sea branch causes greater rainfall on the western coastline, while the eastern branch passes over Bay of Bengal, on to the north-eastern part of the country. As a result, Chennai gets low rainfall from the south-west monsoons.
(iv) Shillong is enclosed by hills and mountains, which causes the Bay of Bengal branch of the south-west monsoons to accumulate in this region. This is the reason why this region experiences heavy rainfall. On the other hand, Kolkata does not lie in a hilly area. Thus, it receives lesser rainfall as compared to Shillong.
(v) The Bay of Bengal branch of the south-west monsoons reaches Shillong around the first of June. It gradually progresses from east to west. As a result, the amount of rainfall received by this region decreases from June to July. The monsoon winds reach Kolkata later than they arrive in Shillong. Hence, Kolkata receives more rainfall in July.
(vi) Due to the progressive decrease in the humidity of the monsoon winds, the amount of rainfall decreases from east to west in northern India. Delhi lies to the east of Jodhpur. Hence, the former receives more rain than the latter.
Question - 13 : - Now think why
— Tiruvananthapuram has equable climate?
— Chennai has more rains only after the fury of monsoon is over in most parts of the country?
— Jodhpur has a hot desert type of climate?
— Leh has moderate precipitation almost throughout the year?
— While in Delhi and Jodhpur most of the rain is confined to nearly three months, in
Tiruvanantapuram and Shillong it is almost nine months of the year?
In spite of these facts see carefully if there are strong evidences to conclude that the monsoons still provide a very strong framework lending overall climatic unity to the whole country.
Answer - 13 : -
Tiruvanantapuram has an equable climate because of its proximity to the sea. The sea exerts a moderating influence on the climate of the region.
For most parts of the country, the months of October to November form a period of transition from hot rainy season to dry winter conditions. However, Chennai experiences a lot of rainfall during this period because of the retreating monsoons, and also because of the tropical cyclones.
Jodhpur lies in the north-western part of the country. The Great Indian Desert is located in this region. Due to the presence of sand, the region experiences high diurnal range of temperature. Hence, Jodhpur has a hot desert type of climate.
While it receives scanty rainfall throughout the year, Leh does experience snowfall due to the extremely low temperatures. As a result, it experiences moderate precipitation almost throughout the year.
Being located in the interior parts of the country, Delhi and Jodhpur receive rainfall mostly from the south-west monsoons. Hence, the rains in these regions are confined to the monsoon period. While Tiruvanantapuram and Shillong do receive heavy rains during the monsoons, their proximity to the sea makes them experience rains apart from the ones received during the monsoon period.
Though factors like wind systems, pressure, latitude, altitude, distance from the sea, presence of mountains, etc., are responsible for the presence of variations across the country, the seasonal arrival and retreat of monsoons provides a kind of climatic unity to the entire country. In spite of the differences, a distinct climatic pattern is evident—a climate characterised by hot rainy summers and cold dry winters.