India climate vegetation

india climate and vegetation for kids

1. INDIA CLIMATE, VEGETATION & WILD LIFE N.MUKUND SAI, Roll No. 24 6 th Class, Section-D , BHARTI PUBLIC SCHOOL.

2. INDIA-CLIMATE Climate: Climate is the average weather or the regular pattern of weather conditions of a particular place over a period of time. The climate of a country plays a major role in shaping the lives of its people. It determines, for example, the crops they grow, the clothes they wear and even many of their festivals. As India is one of the Agricultural based country-Climate plays major role in its economy, people, culture etc..,

3. F ACTORS DETERMINING CLIMATE Almost all these factors play a role in the climate of India as a whole and in the climatic variations found in different parts of India. Latitude Altitude Position with respect to mountains Distance from the sea and by winds.

4. L ATITUDE With the tropic of Cancer running through almost the middle of the country. Most of India lies in the tropical and subtropical zones. So, the temperature is generally quite high throughout the country. A LTITUDE The temperate of a place also depends on its altitude. Places located on hills or mountains like Shimla , Srinagar and Ooty are cooler than places in the plains. Ooty in the Nilgiris is pleasant though out the year even though it is relatively close to the equator.

5. P OSITION WITH RESPECT TO MOUNTAINS To the north of India the lofty Himalayans stand as a barrier against the cold winds from northern Asia. They also force monsoon winds to shed most of their moisture within the country. Without this mountain barrier, the monsoon winds would have blown into Central Asia and the northern part of India would have remained dry. Western Ghats influence the rainfall in western India. They force the rain-bearing winds from the Arabian Sea to shed their moisture over their western slope. Thus places to the east of the Western Ghats, like Pune receive low rainfall.

6. D ISTANCE FROM THE SEA The seas have a moderating effect on the temperature in the coastal areas that s means no much variation in the coastal areas. Eg : Chennai experiences less variation in temperature than Delhi does, Because Chennai lies on the coast, while Delhi is far away from the seas.

7. C LIMATIC DIVERSITY India generally has a tropical monsoon climate. However, there are regional variations. The interior part of the country especially in the north, has a part of the continental type of climate. Continental type of climate is characterized by hot summers and cold winters.

8. R AIN FALL IN INDIA India shows a great deal of variation in the amount of annual rainfall too. In general, rainfall decreases from east to west. While the hot, dry Thar Desert in the north-west and the cold, dry area north of the Himalayas in Kashmir receive low annual rainfall. North-eastern state of Meghalaya is one of the wettest areas in the world. Cherrapunji in Meghalaya, has one of the world’s highest rainfall averages 1,143 cm per year. Rainfall in an area is collected in a special vessel. The height f water collected (in Centimeters) indicates the amount of rainfall. Mawsynram , a place near Cherrapunji , has recorded an even highest annual rainfall over 1,700 cm.

9. V EGETATION OF INDIA Different regions in India have different climate conditions and soil types. Based on these, natural vegetation in India can be classified in to five major types. Forest type Characteristics Tropical rainforest Very heavy rain fall (more than 200 cm per year), dense evergreen trees which do not shed their leaves across seasons. Western Ghats and the western coast, parts of west Bengal and Orissa, North eastern states and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands have such vegetation. Tropical deciduous rainforest Also called monsoon forest, common type Indian forests. Where rainfall between 100-200 cm per year. Shed their leaves twice in a year. Forests of teak, sal , palash , peepal , rosewood etc., Thorn forest In arid regions (Low rain fall regions) of Rajastan , Gujarat, Punjab and Haryana mainly annual rainfall is less than 50 cm. The vegetation here consists of short trees like acacia and thorny bushes and shrubs. Leaves are waxy coated in order to reduce the loss of water from plants. Mountain forest Vegetation varies with the mountain altitude. In the Himalayas, it ranges from tropical deciduous to coniferous. Coniferous trees such as cedars, pines and silver fir etc. Tidal forest Known as mangrove vegetation, found in swampy areas that are constantly washed by sea water during high tide. Mostly eastern coasts from Bengal to Tamil nadu .

10. W ILDLIFE -INDIA Indian forests are home to a variety of wildlife. The tiger, India’s national animal, is found in many parts of the country. The sundarbans are the home for majestic Bengal tiger. The common leopard is found in forests all over india . But snowleopard lives only in the Himalayans. The Asiatic lion is found mainly in the Gir forests of Gujarat. Elephants are common in the forests of peninsular India. They also found in Assam. The Rhinoceros is a protected animal in the sanctuaries and national parts of Assam. The Indian Bison (Guar) is found in North and south India. The red panda and the ibex are found in the Ladakh region. Besides these many animals are include bear, monkey, hyena, wolf, jackel , deer, gazelle, antelope and blue bull ( Nilgai ). India also shelters for variety of reptiles includes snakes, crocodiles and turtles. More than a thousand species of birds are found in India. These includes parrots, kingfishers and the peacock (India’s national bird).

11. W ILDLIFE PROTECTION-INDIA Protecting wildlife: Animals and birds are part of our country’s natural heritage. Due to some man made destructions their numbers are declining and some are facing extinction . So, should be kept under their natural habitats viz., sanctuaries and national parks have been set up all over India. Their natural habitat is not much disturbed in these areas.