Monsoon Climate

1
Monsoon Climate
25th April 2005
CW

• Lesson Aims
• To discover the causes of the monsoon weather
  system
• To begin to see how the monsoon affects people

2
What is the Monsoon?

• Means Season in Arabic
• It is a seasonal wind reversal
• These reversals occur throughout the tropical
  region, but are best seen in the area around
  India
• There is a massive variation in the Monsoon
  climate even within the Indian subcontinent

3
Why does it happen?

• Basically, in the summer, India and Asia is very
  hot
• Hot air rises, creating an area of LOW pressure
• The low pressure literally sucks in the moist air
  from the south (from over the ocean)
• The downpours that follow are intense, especially
  in the higher altitude regions
• From mid-September this changes
• The North East Trade winds (offshore) blow in a
  south-westerly direction, bringing dry weather,
  and a high pressure winter
• Northern Australia gets the monsoon rain
• India gets a drought- until the monsoon next year

4
Task- Copy out and fill in the blanks

• The monsoon is a type of ______ climate. The
  monsoon brings heavy rain to______, Bangladesh
  and other parts of ______. It rains for three
  _____, almost without stopping.
• The monsoon rains arrive during the ______ as
  moist _____ is sucked across the Indian
  ________because of the intense heat of the Indian
  subcontinent. The monsoon occurs only when the
  wet _____ blow onshore from warm seas and oceans.
• This climatic event has an effect on whole
  nations and is vitally important to the people of
  that part of the world.

Air season India months
tropical summer ocean
winds Asia
5
Task- Answers

• The monsoon is a type of Tropical climate. The
  monsoon brings heavy rain to India, Bangladesh
  and other parts of Asia. It rains for three
  months, almost without stopping.
• The monsoon rains arrive during the summer as
  moist air is sucked across the Indian ocean
  because of the intense heat of the Indian
  subcontinent. The monsoon occurs only when the
  wet winds blow onshore from warm seas and oceans.
• This climatic event has an effect on whole
  nations and is vitally important to the people of
  that part of the world.

Air season India months
tropical summer ocean
winds Asia
6
Task-Use this slide / photocopy to fill in the
June December monsoon season positions
7
Opportunities in the Monsoon

• Temperatures always high enough for cultivation
• Farming can be geared towards starting when the
  monsoon rain is expected (after 8 months of
  little rain)
• Rice is best suited- intense cultivation takes
  place on flooded padi fields
• Rice will then provide a staple food source for
  the rest of the year
• Commercial farming of rice can lead to income
  (think Uncle Bens)
• Mountain slopes in Assam and Darjeeling have the
  perfect amount of rain for tea bushes

8
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9
Constraints in the Monsoon

• Rain varies each year
• Between 1899 and 1999, 15 years were drought
  years- rainfall amount was 25 lower than average
• In these cases, great hardship ensues for
  farmers, their families and their communities
• Growing rice can be risky. If the crop fails then
  families will have no food
• If the rain is too heavy, padi fields can be
  washed away
• Roads can be cut off, and people left isolated
• If a tropical cyclone occurs, then people can
  die, buildings collapse, and disease can spread

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11
Extension task-

• From The monsoon system at work sheet-
• Copy out the (long) paragraph, putting the
  correct word in the spaces each time.
• Its actually not that long- it is deceptive!

12
Homework

• Either on graph paper (ask for it) or on a
  computer, complete a climate graph for Bombay.
• The temperature and precipitation data is on the
  photocopy from todays lesson (page 12)