GEOGRAPHICAL

PHENOMENA
Climate vs Weather

Weather is the momentary state of the atmosphere while climate refers to the

average of the weather conditions over a longer period of time.

Climate of India

United Kingdom has a moist and temperate climate.

India has a hot monsoonal climate.This type of climate is seen in south and
south east Asia

The word monsoon is derived from the Arabic word ‘mausim’ which means
season.
Meteorologists say India has 4 seasons:

(i) the cold weather season

(ii) the hot weather season

(iii) the southwest monsoon season

(iv) the retreating monsoon season

Factors Affecting Climate

● Latitude
● Altitude
● Pressure and winds
● Distance from the sea (continentality)
● Relief features
Latitudes and
longitudes
Northern and Southern hemisphere
Terms/ideas we should know before we
learn about monsoon
● Coriolis force
● High pressure area and low pressure area
● Inter tropical convergence zone (ITCZ)
● Easterly winds or Trade winds
● Earth's revolution around the sun and how over head sunlight changes
● Solstice,equinox
● Shift in ITCZ
CORIOLIS FORCE
Coriolis force is an apparent force caused by the earth's rotation. The Coriolis
force is responsible for deflecting winds towards the right in the northern
hemisphere and towards the left in the southern hemisphere.

Coriolis force is absent at the equator

https://youtu.be/mPsLanVS1Q8?si=Co6Qm42pf-Mt8gEZ
High pressure area and low pressure area

● When land gets heated up, the air above it rises

up, forming a low pressure area

● The air comes down (descends) in a high

pressure area.

Air moves from high pressure area to low pressure

area
Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)

The Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ /ɪtʃ/ ITCH),known by sailors as the

doldrums or the calms because of its monotonous windless weather, is the area
where the northeast and the southeast trade winds converge. It encircles Earth
near the thermal equator though its specific position varies seasonally. When it
lies near the geographic Equator, it is called the near-equatorial trough. Where
the ITCZ is drawn into and merges with a monsoonal circulation, it is
sometimes referred to as a monsoon trough
We can also say that ITCZ is the region where trade winds
converge
The trade winds should
have been straight
lines.But,due to Coriolis
force they show a
deflection(turn)
How does the ITCZ vary seasonally?
With respect to Northern
hemisphere:
● Equinox : length of day =
length of night
● Winter solstice : Nights
are longer
● Summer solstice : days
are longer (in the months
of June,July etc)
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npmQ?si=i1d9cDmxLF6b8RU
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MONSOON
Onset of monsoon

During April and May when the sun shines vertically over the Tropic of
Cancer,the large landmass in the north of Indian ocean gets intensely heated.
This causes the formation of an intense low pressure in the northwestern part of
the subcontinent. Since the pressure in the Indian Ocean in the south of the
landmass is high as water gets heated slowly, the low pressure cell attracts the
southeast trades across the Equator.
In July:
● ITCZ will be in the northern
hemisphere
● It will be approximately over the
northern plains of India
● Which means the trade winds converge
at this region
● North of ITCZ we have north-east trade
winds
● South of ITCZ we have south east trade
winds
 This is how the trade
winds should have
converged .But in reality
this does not happen
because of coriolis force.
The south east trade winds on
crossing the equator
experiences coriolis force and
defects to the
right,approaching India from
the south west as south-west
monsoons.
Monsoon winds from the Arabian sea
The monsoon winds originating over the Arabian Sea further split into three
branches:

(i)Its one branch is obstructed by the Western Ghats.

(ii)Another branch of the Arabian sea monsoon strikes the coast north of
Mumbai. Moving along the Narmada and Tapi river valleys, these winds cause
rainfall in extensive areas of central India.

(iii) A third branch of this monsoon wind strikes the Saurashtra Peninsula and
the Kachchh. Passes over western Rajasthan to Punjab and Haryana.
Monsoon winds from the Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal branch strikes the coast of Myanmar and part of southeast
Bangladesh. But the Arakan Hills along the coast of Myanmar deflect a big
portion of this branch towards the Indian subcontinent. The monsoon,
therefore,enters West Bengal and Bangladesh from south and southeast instead
of from thesouth-westerly direction. From here, this branch splits into two
under the influence of the Himalayas and the thermal low is northwest India. Its
one branch moves westward along the Ganga plains reaching as far as the
Punjab plains. The other branch moves up the Brahmaputra valley in the north
and the northeast, causing widespread rains.
Breaks in monsoon

These are dry spells during rainy season

These may happen due to:

● Absence of rain bearing clouds

● When winds blow parallel to the coast
Retreating monsoon

● Happens in the months of October and November

● The region of low pressur(ITCZ) starts moving south and is completely
removed from the peninsula by middle of December
● Since the land is still moist,there is high humidity.This along with high
temperature leads to October heat
● Rains happen in the eastern coast due to cyclonic depressions from the
Andaman sea
Cold weather season /Winter

● Mid-November to February in North India

● North east trade winds prevail over the country
● Mostly dry
● Some rain in Tamil Nadu
● Winter rainfall due to cyclonic disturbances from Mediterranean sea.This
rain is called Mahawat.
● Peninsular region does not have a well defined cold season
Hot weather season/summer

● March to May
● Another feature of summer is the loo ( strong,gusty, hot,dry winds blown
during the day over north and north western India)
● Local storms and rains:
○ Mango showers: Towards the end of summer, there are pre-monsoon showers which are a
common phenomena in Kerala and coastal areas of Karnataka.They help in early ripening of
Mangoes.
○ Blossom shower: It is during this time that the coffee showers blossom in Kerala.
○ Norwesters/Kalbaishakhi/Bardoisila:Evening thunderstorms in Bengal and Assam
Tropical
cyclones/Typhoons/Hurricanes/Willi-willi
es
Tropical cyclones are violent storms that originate over oceans in tropical
areas and move over to the coastal areas bringing about large scale destruction
Conditions for formation and
intensification:
● Sea surface temperature greater than 27⁰c
● Coriolis force
● A pre existing low pressure area
● Small variations in vertical wind speed
Formation of tropical cyclones

● The air over ocean is warm and rises up→This creates a low pressure
area→air from surrounding ocean rushes to fill this gap→however due to
coriolis force the wind rotates around the low pressure while it ascends→
as the warm air reaches the top,it condenses(cools down)→ this
condensation releases heat which causes further evaporation→the tropical
cyclone stops growing only when water source is absent.For that the
cyclone has to touch the land (landfall)
● The centre of cyclone is called ‘eye of the cyclone’
● The circulating winds form the ‘eye wall’
● A cyclone can reach upto a height of 15kms to 18kms
Assignment:Find out the countries around
Mediterranean sea.Also the countries
bordering Israel.
Name these countries