Advertisements
Advertisements
Question
Give an account of the distribution of annual rainfall in India.
Advertisements
Solution
The average annual rainfall of India is 110 cm. Regional variations in the distribution are found due to differences in relief of the country. Rainfall is unevenly distributed throughout the country. India can be divided into the following rainfall regions:
- Areas of Heavy Rainfall (more than 200 cm annually):
- Western Coast: Coastal regions like Kerala, Goa, and Maharashtra receive heavy rainfall due to proximity to the Arabian Sea.
- Western Ghats: The Windward side, especially Konkani and Malabar, experiences high rainfall due to orographic lifting.
- Northeast India: States like Meghalaya, Assam, Nagaland, and Manipur receive extremely high rainfall. Mawsynram and Cherrapunji in Meghalaya are among the wettest places on Earth.
- Areas of Moderate Rainfall (100-200 cm annually):
- West Bengal, Orissa, Bihar, Eastern Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh experience moderate rainfall.
- Coastal Tamil Nadu: Receives moderate rainfall from the northeast monsoon (October–December).
- Areas of Very Little Rainfall (less than 50 cm annually):
- Western Rajasthan: The Thar Desert receives less than 250 mm of rainfall annually.
- Jammu and Kashmir: The Leh-Ladakh region receives very little precipitation, mostly in the form of snow.
RELATED QUESTIONS
There is plenty of rain in India during the rainy season, yet we need irrigation. Give two reasons to support this statement.
Give geographical reasons for each of the following
Kanpur has extreme temperature conditions.
Mention the geographical reason for the following:
Western Rajasthan receives no rain from the Arabian Sea branch of the South West Monsoon winds.
Which parallel of latitude divides India into the northern and southern halves.
The North East Monsoons bring almost no rain to most of India.
Kanyakumari is the first to receive the south-west monsoon stream and the last to see its retreat.
Given below is the climatic data of a station. Study the table and answer the questions that follow:
| Month | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
| Temperature in Degree C. | 13.7 | 16.6 | 21.6 | 25.5 | 33.2 | 33.5 | 30.8 | 29.8 | 29.2 | 25.5 | 19.6 | 15.2 |
| Rainfall in cms. | 2.5 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 7.5 | 17.8 | 18.5 | 12.5 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 1.5 |
(i) Calculate the annual range of temperature.
(ii) What is the total rainfall experienced by the station?
(iii) Which is the driest month?
A cricket match at Chennai (Madras) from October 24 to 28 had to be abandoned because of bad weather. As a student of geography provide an explanation and the technical name of this Season in India, the atmospheric pressure conditions over the Bay of Bengal during this part of the year and the typical rainfall experienced in Chennai (Madras) city.
The highest rainfall region in India is located in this state.
What is the source of winter rainfall in Punjab?
