Page 167 - SST Class 06

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Climate, Vegetation and
Wildlife in India
The geographic position of India puts it in a
unique situation. Parts of the country fall in both
tropical and temperate regions. This results in a
vast variety of vegetations and climatic regions. It
also results in significant diversity in the wildlife
of India.
The day-to-day changes that take place in the
atmosphere are known as weather. The four
major seasons in India are winter, summer, rainy
and autumn. The average weather over many
years is known as climate. The grasses, trees and
shrubs which grow on their own without any
human interference are called natural vegetation.
The vegetation in India is divided into five
types— tropical evergreen forests, tropical
deciduous forests, thorny bushes, mountain
vegetation and mangrove forests.
CLIMATE OF INDIA
The climate of India may be broadly described as
tropical monsoon. India’s climate is affected by
two seasonal winds— the north-east monsoon
and the south-west monsoon. The north-east
monsoon commonly known as winter monsoon
blows from land to the sea whereas south-west
monsoon known as summer monsoon blows
from sea to land after crossing the Indian Ocean,
the Arabian sea and the Bay of Bengal. The
south-west monsoon brings most of the rainfall
during the year in the country.
Factors Affecting the Climate of India
The climate around the world is affected by
many different factors that lead to different parts
of the earth experiencing differing climates. The
given factors influence the India’s climate :
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1. Latitude : The Tropic of Cancer passes
through the middle of the country from the
Rann of Kuchchh in the west to Mizoram in
the east. Almost half of the country, lying
south of the Tropic of Cancer, belongs to the
tropical area. All the remaining area, north
of the Tropic, lies in the sub-tropics.
Therefore, India’s climate has characteristics
of tropical as well as subtropical climates.
2. The Northern Mountain Ranges : As
mentioned earlier, India is separated from
the rest of Asia by the impenetrable wall of
the Himalayan mountain ranges. These
ranges protect India from the bitterly cold
and dry winds of Central Asia during winter.
Further, these mountain ranges act as an
effective physical barrier for rain bearing
south-west monsoon winds to cross the
northern frontiers of India. Thus, the
Himalayan mountain ranges act as a clima-
tic divide between the Indian subcontinent
and Central Asia.
3. Altitude : India has mountains to the
north, which have an average height of
about 6,000 metres. India also has a vast
coastal area where the maximum elevation
is about 30 metres. The Himalayas prevent
the cold winds from Central Asia from
entering the subcontinent. It is because of
these mountains that this subcontinent
experiences comparatively milder winters as
compared to Central Asia.
4. Distance from the Sea : Areas near the
coast have equable or mariline climate.