| INDIA TRAVELS >>
INDIAN CLIMATE |
In a country where topography
varies wildly, climatic conditions are only
bound to vary wildly too.
Classified as a hot tropical country by many,
that is a definition that holds true for most
of but not all of India. Exceptions include
the northern states of Himachal Pradesh and
Jammu & Kashmir in the north and Sikkim
in the northeastern hills.
In most of India summer is hot. It begins
in April and continues till the beginning
of October. The heat peaks in June with temperatures
in the northern plains and the west soaring
above 46° C. The monsoons hit the country
during this period too, beginning 1st of June
when they are supposed to find the Kerala
coast. Moisture laden trade winds sweep the
country bringing relief to a parched northern
India but devastation in the east where the
rivers Brahmaputra and Ganga flood annually.
Tamil Nadu in the south receives rainfall
between October and December, beneficiary
of the retreating monsoons.
India’s extensive coastline lies almost
entirely below the Tropic of Cancer. The coast
is usually warm and moist, prone to heavy
rains in the monsoons and high summer temperatures.
The eastern coast is vulnerable to cyclones.
Winters here are mild and pleasantly sunny.
Hill Stations are the happy peculiarity that
came up here when British wives and officers
needed to flee the oppressive heat and malaria
of the plains. Quaint towns that buzz along
"mall roads", tucked away in hills
all over India, they are now weekend getaways
at the height of summer for families and couples
from India’s cities.
The plains in the north and even the barren
countryside of Rajasthan reel under a cold
wave every year in December-January. Minimum
temperatures could dip below 4° C but
maximum temperatures usually do not fall lower
than 12° C. In the northern high altitude
areas of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir,
Sikkim, and parts of Uttar Pradesh, it snows
through the winter and even summer months
are only mildly warm.
The east receives rain from April to August.
September to November is relatively dry and
the region only has sporadic showers. There
are winter rains in December and January.
This abates for two months and then it’s
time for the monsoon season yet again. The
central plateau has similar climate to the
north but the mercury does not dip as low
in winter. It rains from mid-June to September.
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