Download The Monsoons of India

The Monsoons of India
India is a country that is sometimes referred to as a subcontinent. It has that name for two
reasons. The first is that it is a very large peninsula that juts out from the continent of Asia
into the Indian Ocean. The second reason is that according to Wegner’s theory of
“Continental Drift”, India was once separate from Asia, and only joined the Asian continent
when the tectonic plates collided.
India’s position on the southern side of the Asian continent, just north of the equator and
north of the India Ocean creates a weather phenomenon known as ‘monsoons.’ This
phenomenon leaves India with a very dry winter and a very, very wet summer.
Summer Monsoon
India lies just north of the equator
and the Indian Ocean. Because it is
north of the equator, India falls in
the northern hemisphere where the
sun shines more directly in the
months of June, July, and August.
For these months India becomes
very warm from the heat of the sun.
As air over India heats up it begins
to rise – as all warm air will try to
rise. This creates a low pressure system on the ground. Because air will always try to fill a
low pressure area, the air over the Indian Ocean begins to blow in over the land. The air
that comes in off the Indian Ocean is cool and damp, but once it reaches the warm Indian
landscape it too warms and rises. As it rises through the atmosphere, the moist sea air
cools to the point that its moisture condenses to form rain. It is this rain that is referred to
as the monsoons, and they last all summer long.
Winter Monsoon
By the month of December, the earth
has moved around the sun and the tilt
of the earth has positioned the
southern hemisphere more directly in
the sun’s light. As a result the sun
shines directly on the Indian Ocean
warming its waters, while the Indian
subcontinent begins to cool somewhat.
As the air over the Indian Ocean begins
to warm, it also begins to rise. Air now moves off of India to blow out into the Indian Ocean
to replace the rising air. The wind has effectively changed its direction from that of the
months of June, July, and August. Now that there is no moist air moving in from the ocean,
India experiences several months of very dry weather in December, January, and February.
Yet, when the earth moves around the sun again, the season will once again change to go
through the cycle once more.
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