Q1.
Winter in Kerala is different from winter in Kashmir valley. Monsoon in Assam is different from Rajasthan. Why do you think it is so?
Answer
Because India is a very large country, and the weather at a place depends on where that place is — how far it is from the equator, how high it stands, how near the sea it is, and whether there are mountains around it. The season is the same; the place is not.
Why the winters are different:
- Distance from the equator. Kerala is close to the equator, where the Sun's rays fall almost straight down all year. Kashmir is far to the north, where the rays come slanting and bring much less heat.
- Height above the sea. The Kashmir valley lies high up among the mountains. The higher you go, the colder it gets. Kerala is at sea level.
- Nearness to the sea. Kerala has the sea on one side. Water warms up slowly and cools down slowly, so the sea keeps the coast even — never very hot, never very cold. Kashmir has no sea near it.
- The Himalaya. Snow falls on the mountains around the Kashmir valley in winter, and the cold air from the snow settles into the valley. Kerala has no snow anywhere near.
Why the monsoons are different:
- The monsoon winds pick up a great deal of water vapour as they blow over the Bay of Bengal.
- They reach Assam and the north-east first, while they are still full of moisture.
- The hills there force the wind to climb. Rising air cools, and cool air cannot hold its water — so it rains, and rains heavily. Mawsynram in Meghalaya, near Assam, is the wettest place on Earth.
- By the time the winds reach Rajasthan they have travelled far over land and lost most of their water.
- Rajasthan is deep inland, far from the sea, and the Aravalli hills lie along the path of the winds instead of across it, so they do not force the air to rise.
- The result is the Thar Desert — one of the driest places in India.
| Kashmir valley (winter) | Kerala (winter) | |
|---|---|---|
| How cold | Freezing; below zero on many nights | Only slightly cool, about 22–28 °C |
| Snow | Heavy snowfall | Never any snow |
| Clothes | Pheran, heavy woollens, kangri to keep warm | The same cotton clothes as the rest of the year |
| Trees | Chinar and other trees stand bare | Coconut palms stay green all year |
| Assam (monsoon) | Rajasthan (monsoon) | |
|---|---|---|
| Rain | Very heavy, for months together | A little rain on only a few days |
| Rivers | The Brahmaputra swells and floods | Streams fill for a short while and dry again |
| Land | Green, wet, thick forest and tea gardens | Sandy, dry, thorny bushes |
| Farming | Paddy, which needs a lot of water | Bajra and jowar, which need very little |
The idea underneath all of this: A season is a change in the weather that comes to the whole country, but the land it arrives at is different everywhere. High land is colder. Coastal land is even-tempered. Land behind a mountain gets little rain. So the same monsoon that drowns Cherrapunji only sprinkles Jaisalmer — and both are having their monsoon.
Talk about your own place: In the discussion, compare your town with a place a relative lives in. Ask “Is it hotter or colder there in May? Does it rain more or less? Why do you think so?” Use the four reasons above to explain the difference.