Question

There is heavy rainfall on the western coast of India but very little in the Deccan plateau because ____.
a) The Deccan plateau is situated in the rain shadow region of Western Ghats.
b) The region is bypassed by the south western monsoon.
c) Lack of high mountains in the Deccan
d) Of some unknown reason

Answer 1

Hint: The windward side is subjected to prevailing winds that contain ample moisture and shed their containing moisture in that particular position on striking with the surrounding mountains and hills that serve as a barrier for them. That is why more rainfall is obtained from the windward side.

Complete Answer:
- On the western coast of India, there is heavy rainfall, but very little in the Deccan, since the Deccan plateau is located in the Western Ghats' rain shadow.
- To the east of the Western Ghats, the Deccan Plateau receives considerably less rainfall than the coasts. The western Ghats (mountains rise as the summer (wet) monsoons reach the West Coast of India, and the weather cools.
- This cool air is less capable of maintaining humidity and is released as precipitation. Winds from the Arabian Sea ascend from 900 to 1200 m up the slopes of the Western Ghats.
- They soon become cool and as a result, very heavy rainfall ranging from 250 cm to 400 cm occurs on the windward side of the Western Ghats. These winds descend and get heated up after crossing the Western Ghats.

Hence, the answer is option (a).

Note: Between 60 and 68 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous period, the Deccan Traps formed. The majority of the volcanic eruption occurred some 66 million years ago in the Western Ghats (near present-day Mumbai). This sequence of eruptions may have lasted for a total of less than 30,000 years.