Indian Agricultural: Growth, Generation, Policy & Problem Indian Agricultural | Page 49

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tropics, monsoonal and other weather patterns in India can be wildly unstable: epochal droughts,
floods, cyclones, and other natural disasters are sporadic, but have displaced or ended millions of
human lives. There is one scientific opinion which states that in South Asia such climatic events are
likely to change in unpredictability, frequency, and severity. Ongoing and future vegetative changes
and current sea level rises and the attendant inundation of India's low-lying coastal areas are other
impacts, current or predicted, that are attributable to global warming.
Winter, occurring from December to March. The year's coldest months are December and January,
when temperatures average around 10–15 °C (50–59 °F) in the northwest; temperatures rise as one
proceeds towards the equator, peaking around 20–25 °C (68–77 °F) in mainland India's southeast.
Summer or pre-monsoon season, lasting from April to June (April to July in northwestern India). In
western and southern regions, the hottest month is April; for northern regions of India, May is the
hottest month. Temperatures average around 32–40 °C (90–104 °F) in most of the interior.
Monsoon or rainy season, lasting from July to September. The season is dominated by the humid
southwest summer monsoon, which slowly sweeps across the country beginning in late May or early
June. Monsoon rains begin to recede from North India at the beginning of October. South India
typically receives more rainfall.
Post-monsoon or autumn season, lasting from October to November. In the northwest of India,
October and November are usually cloudless. Tamil Nadu receives most of its annual precipitation in
the northeast monsoon season.
The Himalayan states, being more temperate, experience an additional season, spring, which
coincides with the first weeks of summer in southern India. Traditionally, North Indians note six
seasons or Ritu, each about two months long. These are the spring season (Sanskrit: vasanta),
summer (grīṣma), monsoon season (varṣā), autumn (śarada), winter (hemanta), and prevernal
season (śiśira). These are based on the astronomical division of the twelve months into six parts. The
ancient Hindu calendar also reflects these seasons in its arrangement of months.
Winter
Once the monsoons subside, average temperatures gradually fall across India. As the Sun's vertical
rays move south of the equator, most of the country experiences moderately cool weather. December
and January are the coldest months, with the lowest temperatures occurring in the Indian Himalayas.
Temperatures are higher in the east and south.
In northwestern India region, virtually cloudless conditions prevail in October and November, resulting
in wide diurnal temperature swings; as in much of the Deccan Plateau, they register at 16–20 °C (61–
68 °F). However, from January to February, "western disturbances" bring heavy bursts of rain and
snow. These extra-tropical low-pressure systems originate in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. They
Ramesh Kumar P