Tag: introduction to weather and climate

The state of atmosphere over an area at any point of time is known as Weather.

The summers in Rajasthan are hot and humid with the average temperatures rising up to as high as 45 degrees Celsius at times.

The generalization of the atmospheric condition over a long period of time is referred to as climate. It is the long-term pattern of weather in a particular area. Following are the factors which influence the climate of any place:

1. Distance from equator - Places located near equator have hotter climate as compared to the places located away from equator as they receive direct sun rays.
   
2. Altitude - Places located on high altitude have cooler climate as compared to the places located on plains.
   
3. Prevailing winds - Places which experiences on-shore winds have high rainfall as compared to the places experiencing off-shore winds.
   
4. Ocean currents - Winds which blow over warm currents bring more rainfall as compared to the winds blowing over cold currents.
   
5. Distance from sea - Areas located near sea experiences moderate climate, whereas areas located away from sea experiences extreme climate.
   

The state of atmosphere over an area at any point of time is known as weather. It is the state of the atmosphere over short periods of time. Weather can change from hour to hour, day to day, month to month or even year to year. Weather pattern recorded for more than 30 years of a region is considered its climate.

Climate is the average condition of the weather in a place over a long period like 25 years and so. While the weather can change in just a few hours, climate takes hundreds, thousands, even millions of years to change. It characterizes a region's general weather patterns that happen over the course of many years. The climate of an area is affected by its latitude, terrain, and altitude, as well as nearby water bodies and their currents. Climates can be classified according to the average and the typical ranges of different variables, most commonly temperature and precipitation.

The Himalayas are very useful to India in many ways. The Himalayas form a strong natural barrier to our country in the North. For centuries, it has stood as a strong defense wall for the country.     

The Himalayas are a great climatic barrier. They save our country from the cold and dry winds of Central Asia. It also prevents the rain-laden monsoon winds of Indian Ocean from crossing over to Northern countries and causes heavy rain-fall in the Northern India. If there were no Himalayas, our country would have been barren like the Thar Desert.

The generalisation of the atmospheric condition over a long period of time is referred to as climate. It is the average daily weather for an extended time at a particular area. Weather pattern recorded for more than 30 years of a region is considered its climate. The important features of a climate are average temperature and precipitation.