Seasons of India

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) describes four different seasons and the Lunisolar Hindu calendar describes six different types of seasons in India throughout the year- Spring: Vasant Ritu, Summer: Grishma Ritu, Monsoon: Varsha Ritu, Autumn: Sharad Ritu, Pre-Winter: Hemant Ritu, Winter: Shishir Ritu.

The seasons in different parts of India vary with altitude, latitude, and distance from the sea level; each season has its pattern of weather and has varying hours of sunlight during the days.

1. Winter Season of India

Duration: January to March

Average Temperature: 10-15 degree census in the northwest; 20-25 degree Celsius in the southeast; lowest temperature in India goes to 0.6 degrees Celsius in Jammu and Kashmir.

The temperature rises when moving in close proximity towards the equator.

The cold regions remain under the influence of westerly winds blowing from west to east along with an altitude of 9-3 km.

The western cyclonic disturbances caused by the westerly winds on the surface of the Mediterranean Sea catalyzes the presence of winters in India.

2. Summer Season of India

Duration: April to July in northwest India, and March to June in other parts of the country

Average temperature: April features as the hottest in the west while May is the hottest month in the rest of India.

The maximum temperature goes up to 50 degrees Celsius while the coastal areas experience a warm temperature of 36 degrees Celsius.

During summers, the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) experiences a low pressure during this month of July.

As a result, the wind inflow scatters in different directions leading to warm winds over the Indian subcontinent.

These hot winds are popularly referred to as loo which blows over the north Indian surface during mid-afternoons.

During this time, southern states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu experience pre-monsoon or mango showers (helps in the ripening of mangoes in these regions).

3. Monsoon Season of India

It is a four-month period with massive thunderstorms.

The thunderstorms are a result of the southeast trade blowing winds.

It usually occurs primarily in the low-pressure areas of the south.

The high difference of temperature between central Asia and south India impacts monsoons in India.

Southwest monsoon arrives in India through the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea around the month of May

North India receives monsoons by the end of August.

Monsoon engenders a strong impact on agricultural activities in India.

This also impacts the Indian economy as around 600 million people in India are engaged in the agricultural sector.

The monsoon rains replenish the groundwater tables and reduce the average temperature in the country.

The summer monsoon causes rainfall in the eastern and western coastal regions.

As compared to the summer moon, winter monsoons are dry and cold while prevailing an anticyclonic circulation on lands.

4. Post-Monsoon Season of India

It occurs during the months of October and November (just before the winter season).

This season brings dry, dense, and cool air to the central parts of Asia.

This further results in clear skies.

The average temperature during this period ranges between 28 degrees Celsius to 34 degrees celsius.

States such as Tamil Nadu and Kerala experience substantial precipitation during the post-monsoon season.

Climatic Disasters in India

Natural disasters pertaining to harsh and climatic conditions cause a tremendous loss to human life and property. Agricultural activities such as the cultivation of crops, irrigation through hydropower installations, etc. are disrupted due to these inevitable disasters.

Over the years, India has witnessed several disasters on its land and sea surfaces. Some of the major Indian climatic disasters are as follows:

1. Landslides

Landslides are frequent in the lower ranges of the Himalayas.

Rocks structures and formations present within these ranges drift downwards during the condition of a landslide.

High population density, deforestation, waterlogging, and tourism are some of the prominent factors in the occurrence of a landslide.

Parts of Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Western Ghats suffer from high intensity and low-intensity landslides respectively.

This down flow of water during a landslide denudes lower hills and is strong enough to defix a heavy 2. Floods

Floods mainly occur due to the prevalence of southwest rains over river basins such as the Brahmaputra.

Due to inevitable floods near river by sides and coastal areas, thousands of lives are destroyed and millions of people displaced.

Floods are known to swallow widely spread paddy and rice fields in northeast India.

Floods also occur due to untimely rainfalls or excessively heavy monsoons.

India has been bracketed under a high flood risk zone.

Torrential floods and massive precipitation are pretty common in the country

3. Cyclones

Tropical cyclones impact lives and property on the coastal plains.

Tropical cyclogenesis usually occur in the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal.

Cyclones are accompanied by heavy rainfall and thunderstorms

Cyclones generally occur between the months of April and December.

The speed of a single cyclone is 63 km/hour.

During the summer months, warm air collects upon the Bay of Bengal eventually leading to a cyclone over and around the river belt.

Till now, the states of Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal have been worse hit by cyclones.

4. Droughts

Droughts feature as opposed to floods when cultivated lands get deteriorated due to a paucity of rainfall.

It impacts agricultural activities, irrigation, sowing, and harvesting of crops to a great extent.

Droughts usually occur in the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Gujarat.

Similar to other natural disasters, droughts affect thousands of lives every now and then.

Droughts occur due to the El Nino Southern Oscillation of the Pacific equatorial.

A drought may last for a week, month, or even continue for a year.

5. Global Warming

Global warming has severely impacted the global temperatures over the past few decades.

An increase in temperature, the elevation of the sea-level, rapid cyclonic activities, change in precipitation patterns, are some of the factors of global warming.

These factors have drastically influenced the climatic conditions in India.

According to scientists and environmentalists, irresponsible human activities are the principle cause of global warming.

Burning of fossil fuels, the use of aerosols, using products and services which lead to high chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) emissions are some of the leading influences on global warming.

Carbon dioxide, Sulphur dioxide, and methane are the fundamental global warming causing gases.

6. Atmospheric Pollution

It refers to smog and thick haze cover in the northwestern parts of India.

Atmospheric pollution occurs due to the burning of biomass.

Ganga river basin has been vulnerable to this natural disaster.

Black carbon released from the biomass remains negatively impact the southern ranges of Himalayas.

This further leads to the heating up of aerosols while increasing the atmospheric moisture in the mid-troposphere.