2. Weather & Climate  WEATHER: The daily state of atmosphere. It describes the temperature, wind speed & direction, and the amount of precipitation in a place on a particular day.  CLIMATE: The average weather in a place over more than 30 yrs.

3.  Latitude  Altitude  Distance from the sea  Relief(mountains & hills)  Atmospheric pressure & wind  Upper air current

4. THE CLIMATE OF INDIA  India experiences 4 major seasons that follow each other in cycle. * the cold weather season * the hot weather season * the advancing monsoon season * the retreating monsoon season

5. THE COLD WEATHER SEASON WINTER  It falls between the month of December & February.  Winter is more severe in North India than it sis in South India.  The coastal hardly experiences winter.  Widespread snowfall occurs in Himalayan region.

6. THE HOT WEATHER SEASON SUMMER  It extends from March to May in India.  The Sun’s ray falls vertically in this region, causing sharp increase in temperature.  The temperature increases from south to north.  E.g. Average temperature of Deccan Plateau = 38 degree Celsius, Northern Plains= 41-43 degree Celsius & in north- western part of Rajasthan, in Thar, it is 55 degree at times.

7. THE SOUTH-WEST MONSOON SEASON  The South-west monsoon season or the advancing monsoon season lasts from June to September.  Temperatures are very high & so low pressure over Northern Plains intensifies.  Winds originating from a high pressure area centred over the southern Indian Ocean are drawn to the low pressure area.  The moisture laden winds cross the Equator & approach the Indian landmass from the south- west.

8.  As it hits the Landmass, the south-west monsoon breaks into 2 branches : the Arabian Sea branch and Bay of Bengal branch.  The Arabian Sea branch gives heavy rainfall to the coastal areas of Kerala, Karnataka & Maharashtra.  The Bay of Bengal branch causes heavy rainfall in the eastern & north-eastern States of India.  Mawsynram in Meghalaya receives the highest rainfall in India.

9. THE NORTH- EAST MONSOON/ RETREATING MONSOON SEASON  The retreating season spreads over October & November.  The south-east monsoon lose their command over Indian subcontinent & gradually begin to retreat.  The dry wind pass over Bay of Bengal, gather moisture & reach southern India.  It brings heavy rainfall to Tamil Nadu and parts of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka & Kerala.