Seasons of India, Types, Winter, Summer, Monsoon, Spring, Autumn Seasons

Seasons of India

Seasons of India: The best way to define India’s climate is in terms of a yearly seasonal cycle. The cold weather season, the hot weather season, the southwest monsoon season, and the retreating monsoon season are the four seasons, according to meteorologists.

Types of Seasons in India

The Seasons of India are majorly classified as Summer, Winter, Autumn, Spring and Monsoon seasons.

Winter Season of India: The Cold Weather

Mid-December through mid-March is considered the Winter Season. South of the equator is where the sun appears to be travelling. This season is marked by clear skies, pleasant weather, cold and gentle northeast trade breezes, low temperatures, low humidity, and a wide variety of temperatures. Particularly during the winter months in the interior of the nation, the diurnal temperature variation is incredibly wide. The 20°C isotherms and the Tropic of Cancer are nearly parallel. To the south of this isotherm, temperatures are higher than 20 °C. There is no distinct winter climate in this area. In some areas of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the temperature frequently reaches 30 degrees.

The north has distinct winter weather with an average temperature below 21°C. The Gangetic plains have a mean minimum temperature of about 10°C, compared to a mean minimum of about 5°C in north-western India. India’s coldest place is the Dras Valley in Kashmir. The lowest temperature ever at Dras was -45°C in 1908.

Summer Season of India: The Hot Weather

Mid-March to May is considered the Summer Season. This season is characterized mostly by high temperatures and little humidity. Pre-monsoon season is another name for the hot weather season. There is a wide range of sun insolation because the sun appears to wander between the equator and the Tropic of Cancer.

The southern regions of the nation are considerably warmer in March and April, while June brings greater temperatures to north India. The country’s southern regions record the highest temperatures in March (40–45°C). The highest temperature ever recorded in Madhya Pradesh’s northern regions was around 45°C in April.

The hottest month is May when Rajasthan has had temperatures as high as 48°C. June is when temperatures are at their maximum in Punjab and Haryana. The two highest recorded temperatures are 50.6°C on June 14, 1935, at Ganganagar, and 50.5°C on May 10, 1956, in Alwar. Just before the onset of the southwest monsoon, the highest temperatures are recorded (late May). The temperature range throughout the day is likewise extremely wide. The mercury may rise as high as 18°C in some places.

Maximum summer temperatures are noticeably lower in the coastal and southern peninsular regions due to the cooling impact of the sea. Temperatures on the west coast are typically cooler than those on the east coast due to the predominance of westerly winds. The temperatures at sea and on land are very different. In this season, heat waves struck the northern and central areas of India.

Rajasthan, Punjab, and Haryana experience most of the heat waves (locations far away from the sea). From here, they expanded over Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Heat waves in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh are brought on by strong northwesterly winds that are hindered from moving down the eastern coastal belt due to a high divergence in north-western India and a lengthy land journey over hot regions.

Heat Waves start to appear towards the end of April, and their frequency peaks in May. They continue till the arrival of the southwest monsoon. In most cases, heat waves last four to five days. On the peninsula south of 13°N latitude, however, heat waves are rare because of the coastal climate that predominates there.

Monsoon Season of India: Rainy Seasons

June to September is considered the Rainy Season or is called Monsoon in India. The significant increase in temperature across the northwest plains in May has intensified the low-pressure conditions there. By early June, they are strong enough to draw trade winds from the Indian Ocean that are native to the Southern Hemisphere. These trade winds from the southeast pass via the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal after crossing the equator, only to be caught up in the airflow over India. As they cross the heated equatorial currents, they carry a lot of moisture with them. After crossing the equator, they proceed southwestward. As a result, the southwest monsoon is named.

Southwest Monsoon Season

The southwest monsoon season has a sudden onset of rain. The initial downpour has the impact of sharply decreasing the temperature. When the monsoons “break” or “burst,” winds carrying moisture accompanied by ferocious thunder and lightning, occur.

The monsoon may begin in the first week of June in the coastal regions of Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, and Maharashtra while it may begin in the first week of July in the interior. The daily temperature drops from mid-June to mid-July by 5°C to 8°C. The southwesterly direction of these winds as they reach the land is modified by the relief and thermal low pressure over northwest India. As the mainland approaches, the monsoon splits into two branches:

• The Arabian Sea branch
• The Bay of Bengal branch

Retreating Monsoon Season or Cool Season

In October and November, monsoons are known to retreat hence called Retreating Monsoons.  The Ganga Plains low-pressure trough starts to travel southward towards the end of September in reaction to the sun’s southerly march, which weakens the southwest monsoon. Western Rajasthan is free of the monsoon by the first week of September. It will have left Rajasthan, Gujarat, the Western Ganga plain, and the Central Highlands by the end of the month.

Retreating Monsoon in Southern Half of India

By early October, the low-pressure system had moved across the northern portions of the Bay of Bengal, and by early November it is over Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. By the middle of December, the area of low pressure will be entirely gone from the Peninsula. The southwest monsoon season is ending as the weather becomes clearer and warmer. The soil is still drenched. The high warmth and humidity make the weather uncomfortable. The term “October heat” is used to describe this.

Retreating Monsoon in Northern Half of India

In the second half of October, temperatures start to rapidly fall, particularly in northern India. While the eastern section of the Peninsula has rained during the retreating monsoon, and the weather in north India remains dry. In this region, October and November are the wettest months of the year. Cyclonic depressions that develop over the Andaman Sea and travel to the eastern coast of the southern Peninsula are associated with the arrival of the rainy season.

Retreating Monsoons Effects

These tropical cyclones pose a serious threat. The crowded deltas of the Godavari, Krishna, and Kaveri rivers are their favoured prey. These cyclones wreak havoc in this region every year. There have also been cyclonic storms that have impacted the shores of West Bengal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. Most of the rainfall on the Coromandel Coast is caused by these depressions and cyclones. Such cyclonic storms are less common in the Arabian Sea.

Seasons of India FAQs

Q. Which is the longest season in India?

Ans. The summer season, also known as Grishma Ritu, which is marked by unusually hot weather, comes after the spring. When compared to other seasons, this one has the longest days and an average temperature of about 38 degrees.

Q. How many seasons are there in India?

Ans. The Indian Meteorological Department categorises India’s climate into four seasons: the Winter Season, Summer Season, Rainy Season, and Autumn Season.

Q. What is the coldest season in India?

Ans. Mid-November marks the beginning of India’s winter season. In Northern India, December and January are the coldest months. The northern hemisphere is facing away from the sun at this time of year.

Q. Which place is the hottest in India?

Ans. Titlagarh, The hottest place in India is Titlagarh in the state of Odisha, particularly in the summer. Since the town’s temperature reaches to 43 degrees Celsius throughout the day, it is quite difficult for people to leave their homes.

Q. What is the hottest country in the world?

Ans. Mali,  Mali is the country with the highest temperature in the world, with an average temperature of 83.89°F (28.83°C). Mali receives a lot of sunlight due to its location on the edge of the Sahara desert and the Sahel region.

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