🃏 Climate and life (Geography)

The cold weather season — which months? — mid-November to February

The hot weather season — which months? — March to May–June

The south-west monsoon season — which months? — June to September

The retreating monsoon season — which months? — October and November

Monsoon calendar: By 1 June? — The south-west monsoon sets in over the Kerala coast.

Monsoon calendar: 10–13 June? — It moves swiftly to reach Mumbai and Kolkata.

Monsoon calendar: Mid-July? — The south-west monsoon covers the entire subcontinent.

Monsoon calendar: End of September? — It has withdrawn from Rajasthan and Gujarat (and from the western Ganga plain and the Central Highlands).

Monsoon calendar: Early November? — The low pressure has moved over Karnataka and Tamil Nadu; the east of the Peninsula gets its rainiest months.

Monsoon calendar: Mid-December? — The centre of low pressure has left the Peninsula completely.

What is meant by: ITCZ and the monsoon trough? — The Inter Tropical Convergence Zone is a low-pressure belt where trade winds meet. In July it lies around 20°N–25°N over the Gangetic plain — the monsoon trough — and draws the south-east trades across the equator (between 40°E and 60°E), where the Coriolis force turns them into the south-west monsoon.

What is meant by: Jet streams? — Once the westerly jet stream withdraws from the north Indian plain, an easterly jet stream sets in along 15°N; it is held responsible for the burst of the monsoon.

What is meant by: Break in the monsoon? — If rain fails for one or more weeks after a few rainy days, it is a break in the monsoon. In the north it happens when rain-bearing storms along the trough are few; on the west coast, when winds blow parallel to the coast.

What is meant by: El Niño? — A warm current that appears off Peru every three to seven years, bringing droughts and floods around the world. India uses it to forecast long-range monsoon rainfall; in 1990–91 it delayed the monsoon’s onset by five to twelve days. The IMD forecasts the monsoon using 16 indicators.

What is the Mango shower? — Pre-monsoon showers in Kerala and coastal Karnataka that help mangoes ripen early.

What is the Blossom shower? — With this shower, coffee flowers blossom in Kerala and nearby areas.

What is the Nor’westers (Kalbaisakhi)? — Dreaded evening thunderstorms in Bengal and Assam — the ‘calamity of Baisakh’, called Bardoisila in Assam. Useful for tea, jute and rice.

What is the Loo? — Hot, dry, oppressive winds over the northern plains from Punjab to Bihar, strongest between Delhi and Patna.

Which traditional season is Chaitra–Vaisakha (March–April)? — Vasanta

Which traditional season is Jyaistha–Asadha (May–June)? — Grishma

Which traditional season is Sravana–Bhadra (July–August)? — Varsha

Which traditional season is Asvina–Kartika (September–October)? — Sharada

Which traditional season is Margashirsa–Pausa (November–December)? — Hemanta

Which traditional season is Magha–Phalguna (January–February)? — Shishira

Which areas get Over 200 cm of rain a year? — West coast, Western Ghats, the sub-Himalayan north-east and the hills of Meghalaya; over 1,000 cm in parts of the Khasi and Jaintia hills.

Which areas get 100–200 cm of rain a year? — Southern Gujarat, east Tamil Nadu, the north-eastern Peninsula (Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, eastern Madhya Pradesh), the northern Ganga plain along the sub-Himalayas, the Cachar valley and Manipur.

Which areas get 50–100 cm of rain a year? — Western Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, eastern Rajasthan, Gujarat and the Deccan Plateau.

Which areas get Below 50 cm of rain a year? — Parts of the Peninsula (Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra), Ladakh and most of western Rajasthan.

Tropical evergreen and semi-evergreen forests — rainfall? — over 200 cm; mean temperature above 22 °C

Tropical evergreen and semi-evergreen forests — typical species? — Rosewood, mahogany, aini, ebony; semi-evergreen: white cedar, hollock, kail

Moist deciduous (monsoon forests) forests — rainfall? — 100–200 cm

Moist deciduous (monsoon forests) forests — typical species? — Teak, sal, shisham, hurra, mahua, amla, semul, kusum, sandalwood

Dry deciduous forests — rainfall? — 70–100 cm

Dry deciduous forests — typical species? — Tendu, palas, amaltas, bel, khair, axlewood

Tropical thorn forests — rainfall? — less than 50 cm

Tropical thorn forests — typical species? — Babool, ber, wild date palm, khair, neem, khejri, palas

Northern mountain (Himalayan) forests forests — rainfall? — changes with altitude

Northern mountain (Himalayan) forests forests — typical species? — Oak, chestnut, chir pine, deodar, chinar, walnut, silver fir, juniper, birch, rhododendron

Southern mountain forests (Sholas) forests — rainfall? — hill slopes of the Peninsula

Southern mountain forests (Sholas) forests — typical species? — Magnolia, laurel, cinchona, wattle

Littoral and swamp forests (mangroves) forests — rainfall? — coasts, deltas, wetlands

Littoral and swamp forests (mangroves) forests — typical species? — Mangroves

Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve — where and since when? — Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka (1986)

Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve — where and since when? — Uttarakhand (1988)

Nokrek Biosphere Reserve — where and since when? — Meghalaya (1988)

Manas Biosphere Reserve — where and since when? — Assam (1989)

Sunderban Biosphere Reserve — where and since when? — West Bengal (1989)

Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve — where and since when? — Tamil Nadu (1989)

Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve — where and since when? — Andaman and Nicobar Islands (1989)

Similipal Biosphere Reserve — where and since when? — Odisha (1994)

Dibru-Saikhowa Biosphere Reserve — where and since when? — Assam (1997)

Dehang Debang Biosphere Reserve — where and since when? — Arunachal Pradesh (1998)

Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve — where and since when? — Madhya Pradesh (1999)

Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve — where and since when? — Sikkim (2000)

Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve — where and since when? — Tamil Nadu, Kerala (2001)

Achanakmar-Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve — where and since when? — Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh (2005)

Kachchh Biosphere Reserve — where and since when? — Gujarat (2008)

Cold Desert Biosphere Reserve — where and since when? — Himachal Pradesh (2009)

Seshachalam Biosphere Reserve — where and since when? — Andhra Pradesh (2010)

Panna Biosphere Reserve — where and since when? — Madhya Pradesh (2011)

Alluvial soil — where is it found? — The whole northern plain (laid down by the Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra), a narrow corridor into Rajasthan and Gujarat, and the eastern deltas of the Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri.

Black soil (regur) — where is it found? — The Deccan trap (basalt) of the north-west Deccan plateau: the plateaus of Maharashtra, Saurashtra, Malwa, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, and along the Godavari and Krishna valleys.

Red and yellow soils — where is it found? — Low-rainfall areas of the eastern and southern Deccan plateau; parts of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, the southern middle Ganga plain and the piedmont of the Western Ghats.

Laterite soil — where is it found? — Mostly the southern states, the Western Ghats of Maharashtra, Odisha, parts of West Bengal and the north-east.

Arid soil — where is it found? — The dry west — western Rajasthan becomes cultivable with irrigation.

Forest soil — where is it found? — Hilly and mountainous areas with enough rain forest.

Wetlands: key facts? — India’s wetlands cover 3.9 million hectares, about 70% of it under paddy. NCERT groups them into eight categories, from the reservoirs of the Deccan and the lagoons of the southern west coast to the mangroves of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Forest policy: key facts? — India adopted a forest policy in 1952, modified in 1988. It aims to bring 33% of the geographical area under forest cover, conserve biodiversity, check soil erosion and floods, and involve people — especially women — in planting trees.

Social forestry: key facts? — Managing and planting trees on barren land for environmental, social and rural development. The National Commission on Agriculture (1976) divides it into urban, rural (agro- and community) and farm forestry.

Wildlife law: key facts? — About 4–5% of all known plant and animal species are found in India. The Wildlife Act of 1972 (amended in 1991) protects endangered species and gives legal backing to national parks and sanctuaries; NCERT counts 107 national parks and 573 wildlife sanctuaries.

Project Tiger: key facts? — Launched in 1973 in nine tiger reserves (16,339 sq. km); now 58 tiger reserves with 84,487 sq. km of core habitat in 18 states. Tigers rose from 1,411 in 2006 to 3,682 in 2023 — more than 75% of the world’s tigers.

Project Elephant: key facts? — Launched in 1992 to help states with free-ranging wild elephants ensure their long-term survival; it runs in 18 states. Other projects protect crocodiles, the hangul and the Himalayan musk deer.