INDIA : CLIMATE, VEGETATION AND WILDLIFE

1 88 INDIA : CLIMATE, VEGETATION AND WILDLIFEYou read in newspapers daily and watch on orhear others talking about weather. You must knowthat weather is about day to day changes in theatmosphere. It includes changes in temperature,rainfall and sunshine etc. For example, as such it maybe hot or cold; sunny or cloudy; windy or calm. Youmust have noticed that when it is hot continuously forseveral days you don t need any warm like to eat or drink cold things. In contrast thereare days together, you feel cold without woollen clotheswhen it is very windy and chilly, you would like tohave something hot to , the major seasons recognised in INDIA are: Cold Weather Season (Winter) December toFebruary Hot Weather Season (Summer) March to May Southwest Monsoon Season (Rainy)June to September Season of Retreating Monsoon(Autumn) Octoberand NovemberCOLD WEATHER SEASONOR WINTERD uring the winter season, the sun rays do not falldirectly in the region.

2 As a result the temperatures arequite low in northern WEATHER SEASONOR SUMMERIn the hot weather season sun rays more or less directlyfall in this region. Temperature becomes very and dry winds called loo, blow during the (12-01-15)57 INDIA : climate , VEGETATION AND WILDLIFELet s have fun in all parts of our country drink deliciouscool drinks called Sharbat made from fruitsavailable in their regions. They are excellentthirst-quenchers and protect our bodies from theill-effect of the harsh loo . Have you tried Sharbat , made from raw mango, bel, lemon,tamarind, kokum, phalsa, watermelon andbuttermilk made from curds; for examplechhaachh, mattha, mori, chash, etc?

3 Many makebanana and mango milkshakes a hot summer, the first rains bring muchjoy. All our languages have melodious songs on rains . They sound happy and bring cheer. Learntwo songs on rains and sing them or collect five poems on your friends, neighbours and familymembers for names for rains and other seasonsin different languages. For instance,Varsha HindiPous MarathiBarish UrduBorsha BengaliSOUTH WEST MONSOON SEASONOR RAINY SEASONThis season is marked by the onset and advance ofmonsoon. The winds blow from Arabian Sea and Bayof Bengal towards the land.

4 They carry moisture withthem. When these winds strike the mountain barriers,rainfall RETREATING MONSOONSOR AUTUMNW inds move back from the mainland to the Bay ofBengal. This is the season of the retreating southern parts of INDIA , particularly Tamil Naduand Andhra Pradesh receive rainfall in this , the climate is about the average weathercondition, which have been measured over many climate of INDIA has broadly been described asMonsoon type. Monsoon is taken from the Arabic word mausim , which means seasons. Due to INDIA s locationin the tropical region, most of the rain is brought bymonsoon winds.

5 Agriculture in INDIA is dependent onrains. Good monsoons mean adequate rain and abountiful would happen ifmonsoons were weak, or evenworse, failed to occur one year?Tick ( ) the correct answer. Crops will be-affected/not affected The level of the water in awell will-come-up/go-down Summer will be-longer/shorter2015-16 (12-01-15)58 THE EARTH : OUR HABITATThe climate of a place is affected by its location,altitude, distance from the sea, and relief. Therefore,we experience regional differences in the climate ofIndia. Jaisalmer and Bikaner in the desert of Rajasthanare very hot, while Drass and Kargil in Jammu andKashmir arefreezing cold.

6 Coastal places like Mumbaiand Kolkata experience moderate climate . They areneither too hot nor too cold. Being on thecoast, these places are very in Meghalaya receives theworld s highest rainfall, while in aparticular year it might not rain at all inJaisalmer in VEGETATIONWe see a variety of plant life in oursurroundings. How nice it is to play in afield with green grasses. There are alsosmall plants called bushes and shrubs likecactus and flowering plants etc. Besidesthere are many tall trees some with manybranches and leaves like neem, mango orsome which stand with few leaves such aspalm.

7 The grasses, shrubs and trees, whichgrow on their own without interference orhelp from human beings are called naturalvegetation. Do you wonder how these differfrom each other. Different types of naturalvegetation are dependent on differentclimatic conditions, among which theamount of rainfall is very to varied climatic conditions, Indiahas a wide range of natural of Indiacan be divided into fivetypes Tropical evergreen forest, Tropicaldeciduous forest, Thorny bushes,Mountain VEGETATION and RAIN FORESTT ropical Rain Forests occur in the areaswhich receive heavy rainfall.

8 They are sodense that sunlight doesn t reach the species of trees are found in these forests,which shed their leaves at different times of theLet s DoOn a map ofIndia, locatethe placesmentioned in : Tropical Rain Forests2015-16 (12-01-15)59 INDIA : climate , VEGETATION AND WILDLIFE year. Therefore, they always appear green and arecalled evergreen forest as you may notice in Important trees found in these forests aremahogany, ebony and rosewood. Andaman andNicobar Islands, parts of North-Eastern states anda narrow strip of the Western slope of the WesternGhats are home of these DECIDUOUS FORESTSIn a large part of our country we have this type offorest.

9 These forests are also called monsoon are less dense. They shed their leaves at aparticular time of the year. Important trees of theseforests are sal, teak, peepal, neem and shisham. Theyare found in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and in parts BUSHESThis type of VEGETATION is found in dry areas of thecountry. The leaves are in the form of spines to reducethe loss of water. Cactus, khair, babool, keekar areimportant and are found in the states of Rajasthan,Punjab, Haryana, Eastern slopes of Western Ghats : Tropical Deciduous Forests2015-16 (12-01-15)60 THE EARTH : OUR HABITATMOUNTAIN VEGETATIONA wide range of species is found in the mountainsaccording to the variation in height.

10 With increase inheight, the temperature falls. At a height between 1500 Figure : Thorny Bushesmetres and 2500 metres most of the treesare conical in shape. These trees are calledconiferous trees. Chir, Pine and Deodar areimportant trees of these FORESTST hese forests can survive in saline are found mainly in Sunderbans inFigure : Mountain VegetationFigure : Mangrove Vegetation2015-16 (12-01-15)61 INDIA : climate , VEGETATION AND WILDLIFEWest Bengal and in the Andaman and Nicobar is a well-known species of trees in mangroveforests after which Sunderbans have been FORESTS NECESSARY?