Question

What is the extent of the southwest monsoon season in India?

Answer 1

Hint:
- Monsoon is referred to as the reversal of wind due to changes in precipitation.
- The southwest monsoon wind flows from sea to land after crossing the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Bay Of Bengal.
- The season covers almost 80 percent of the rainfall of India and is a great source of irrigation in the agriculture sector as the Indians are dependent on it.

Complete step by step solution:

The climate of India is affected mainly by two seasonal winds, i.e. the Northeast monsoon and the Southwest monsoon. The Northeast monsoon is often known as the Winter season which blows from land to sea. On the other hand the Southwest monsoon is often known as the Summer season which blows from sea to land, bringing most of the rainfall during a year in the country.

The rapid increase in the temperature in the month of May and early June leads to low pressure conditions which are enough to attract the trade winds of the Southern Hemisphere coming from the Indian Ocean. After passing the equator, they follow a southwestern direction and that is why it came to be known as the Southwestern Monsoon.

The monsoons then burst in around the first week of June in the southern parts like Kerala, Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra accompanied by lightning, thunder and heavy downpour. They reach the interior parts of the country in the first week of July. This creates cloudy, warm and moist weather conditions all over India. The rainfall ranges in between 400 and 500 mm.

The retreating monsoon season starts from the month of October and may continue till November which are marked by clear skies and rise in temperature.

Thus, the Southwest monsoon extends between the month of June to September.

Note:
- The temperature prevailing in the Southwest monsoon season ranges from 30 to 40 degree and in extreme weather conditions can also rise upto 45 degree in places like Rajasthan, Bathinda etc.

- In the year 2012 some of the prominent initiatives have been taken for focusing more on the predictions data, i.e. Monsoon Mission of India.

- Also, recently in 2018, Indo-Us expedition has been launched from Chennai to seek answers for changes in the Bay of Bengal monsoon.