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NCERT Solutions Exploring Society: India and Beyond Chapter 2 –33Reading a temperature chart — LET'S EXPLORE

Book page 32 Updated on2026-09-05

Q1.
Here's a chart of the temperatures of a city in Madhya Pradesh. What is the maximum temperature recorded in the week shown here? What is the minimum? Calculate the range.
Answer

These are the seven days printed in the chart, 28.02.2025 to 06.03.2025:

DateMaximum (°C)Minimum (°C)Range for the day (°C)
28.02.2025291613
01.03.2025301515
02.03.2025311714
03.03.2025321814
04.03.2025301713
05.03.2025281414
06.03.2025291514
Highest maximum in the week = 32°C on 03.03.2025
Lowest minimum in the week = 14°C on 05.03.2025
Range of temperature = 32 − 14
= 18°C
Why it happens: Range of temperature is simply maximum minus minimum. Over a single day it tells you how sharply the air cools after sunset; over a week it tells you how much the weather swung in that week. An 18°C swing is typical of an inland city in late winter — clear skies let the ground heat strongly by day and lose that heat quickly at night.
Try this: Work out the mean daily temperature for 03.03.2025 — (32 + 18) ÷ 2 = 25°C. Do the same for all seven days and you will have the week's temperature profile.
Q2.
Remember the conversation between Krishnan and Amir? If Krishnan said it was 20°C in Chennai and he was feeling a little cold, he and Amir would have a measure they could understand. What do you think Amir's reaction to Krishnan's statement might be?
Answer

Amir would probably laugh and say something like: “Twenty degrees? That is a pleasant spring afternoon here! In Srinagar our winter mornings are near 0°C, and in January the water in the pipes freezes. If it were 20°C in Kashmir we would be out playing without a jacket.”

The important thing is what has changed in the conversation. Earlier Amir could not picture ‘chilly’ at all. Now he knows the exact number and can compare it with his own experience — so the two boys can finally disagree about the feeling while agreeing completely about the fact.

Why it happens: Our sense of hot and cold is relative to what our body is used to. A Chennai body, used to 30–35°C almost all year, reads 20°C as cold. A Srinagar body, used to winters near freezing, reads the same 20°C as mild. The thermometer settles the fact; only the body decides the feeling.
Tip: This is exactly why the IMD publishes a ‘normal’ temperature (NOR) beside the actual one. 6.5°C is a cold day in Srinagar only because Srinagar's normal for that date is 8.9°C — the number by itself means nothing until you know the place.
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