WHAT IS WEATHER OR CLIMATE?
You read in newspapers daily and watch on T.V. or hear others talking about the weather. You must know that weather is about day to day changes in the atmosphere. It includes changes in temperature, rainfall, and sunshine, etc. For example, as such it may be hot or cold; sunny or cloudy; windy or calm. You must have noticed that when it is hot continuously for several days you don’t need any warm clothing. You also like to eat or drink cold things. In contrast, there are days together, you feel cold without woollen clothes when it is very windy and chilly, you would like to have something hot to eat.
Broadly, the major seasons recognised in India are:
1. Cold Weather Season (Winter)
2. Hot Weather Season (Summer)
3. Southwest Monsoon Season (Rainy)
4. Season of Retreating Monsoon (Autumn)
Let’s have fun:
People in all parts of our country drink delicious cool drinks called Sharbat made from fruits available in their regions. They are excellent thirst-quenchers and protect our bodies from the ill-effect of the harsh ‘loo’. Have you tried ‘Sharbat’, made from raw mango, bel, lemon, tamarind, kokum, phalsa, watermelon, and buttermilk made from curds; for example, chhaachh, mattha, mori, chash, etc? Many make banana and mango milkshakes too.
After a hot summer, the first rains bring much joy. All our languages have melodious songs on ‘rains’. They sound happy and bring cheer. Learn two songs on rains and sing them together. Write or collect five poems on rains.
Ask your friends, neighbours, and family members for names for rains and other seasons in different languages. For instance,
Varsha – Hindi
Barish – Urdu
Borsha – Bengali
Pous– Marathi
Source: This topic is taken from NCERT TEXTBOOK.
WINTER
Cold weather season
*Cold Weather Season (Winter) December to February.
*During the winter season, the sun rays do not fall directly in the region. As a result, the temperatures are quite low in northern India.
Source: This topic is taken from NCERT TEXTBOOK
SUMMER
Hot weather season
* Hot Weather Season (Summer) March to May.
* In the hot weather season sun rays more or less directly fall in this region. Temperature becomes very high. Hot and dry winds called loo, blow during the day.
Source: This topic is taken from NCERT TEXTBOOK
RAINY SEASON
Southwest monsoon season
* Southwest Monsoon Season (Rainy) June to September.
* This season is marked by the onset and advance of the monsoon. The winds blow from Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal towards the land. They carry moisture with them. When these winds strike the mountain barriers, rainfall occurs.
Source: This topic is taken from NCERT TEXTBOOK
AUTUMN
Season of retreating monsoons
* Season of Retreating Monsoon (Autumn) October and November.
* Winds move back from the mainland to the Bay of Bengal. This is the season of the retreating monsoons. The southern parts of India, particularly Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh receive rainfall in this season.
However, the climate is about the average weather condition, which has been measured over many years. The climate of India has broadly been described as Monsoon type. Monsoon is taken from the Arabic word ‘mausim’, which means seasons. Due to India’s location in the tropical region, most of the rain is brought by monsoon winds. Agriculture in India is dependent on rains. Good monsoons mean adequate rain and a bountiful crop.
Activity:
What would happen if monsoons were weak, or even worse, failed to occur one year? Tick (Ö )the correct answer.
1. Crops will be - affected/not affected
2. The level of the water in a well will - come-up/go-down
3. Summer will be - longer/shorter
Source: This topic is taken from NCERT TEXTBOOK