India has a rich variety of wetland habitats. There are coastal lagoons and tidal marshes, mangroves and swamp forests, and several smaller depressions which support fresh water and half-fresh water habitats. These diverse systems support a wealth of animals and plants, many of which cannot be seen anywhere else in the country. Two sites — […]
Forests are found around the world and around every corner of the earth. Forests play an important role in sustaining various species and deliver various benefits to both plants and animals. Forests come in various types and sizes based on the climate and topography of those areas. Various types of forests fulfill diverse functions such as
Natural vegetation is a biological term that refers to a plant community that has grown naturally without any human aid and has been left undisturbed by humans for a long. Thus, cultivated crops and fruits, orchards form part of vegetation but not natural vegetation. Himalayan heights are marked with temperate vegetation; the Western Ghats and
Koeppen’s scheme is based on the monthly values of temperature and precipitation. Koeppen identified five major climatic types—tropical climates, dry climates, warm climates, snow climates and ice- climates. He used letter symbols A, B, C, D and E to denote these climatic types. Tropical climates: Where mean monthly temperature throughout the year is over 18°C.
Major climatic types of India based on Koeppen’s scheme Read More »
The annual rainfall of India varies across regions. The height of the Western Ghats and the Eastern Himalayas prevent the moisture-rich winds from entering into the mainland interior and central India. This results in a dry climate in these regions. The average annual rainfall in India is about 125 cm, but it has great spatial
Retreating monsoon season commences with the beginning of the withdrawal of the south-west monsoon and lasts till early January. It is a 3-month long process where it starts from the peninsula in October and from the extreme south-eastern tip by December. The retreating southwest monsoon season is marked by clear skies and rise in temperature.
Monsoon is the general term for the seasonal reversing wind accompanied with the predominantly rainfall during the summer months. Monsoonal rain is mainly precipitated over west coast, Bay of Bengal and adjoining areas. This type of rainfall is heavily governed by topographic interference. The regions of maximum precipitation vary with seasonal progress of the monsoon
The Bay of Bengal branch is the most active one in the monsoon season. This branch strikes the coast of Myanmar and part of Bangladesh. The Arakan Hills, however, deflect a big portion of this branch towards India. The monsoon, therefore, enters West Bengal and Bangladesh from south and southeast instead of from the south-westerly
Over the Arabian Sea, monsoon winds alternately blow from the northeast and the southwest, reversing their dominant direction with the seasons. In the winter, the winds blow from Southwest Asia toward the sea. The monsoon winds originating over the Arabian Sea further split into three branches: It’s one branch is obstructed by the Western Ghats.
The southwest monsoon season is considered the most critical and significant season of the year to the people of India. This is because it brings relief from the scorching heat of the hot summer. Increase of temperature in May over the northwestern plains, the low pressure conditions over there get further intensified. By early June,
