The India Monsoon
The Indian Monsoon
The monsoon is a yearly cycle, where the direction of the wind changes, bringing storms and rainfall to the land, and when the wind changes again it brings drought to the land. This creates a wet and a dry season in some areas, such as the Indian region. However, this is not a set of wet and dry seasons, the monsoon varies from year to year and even from day to day. The word “monsoon” is believed to have originated from the Arabic word mausem, which itself means “season” (Fein & Stephens, 1987, p.3). During the wet season of the monsoon intensive, storms and rainfall occurs. In the case of the Indian monsoon, during the summer the temperature rises, this makes the air hot. When air gets hot it rises, because the density of the molecules decreases. This creates a low atmospheric pressure, this low pressure acts as a vacuum system, bringing more and more air up. The Indian Ocean gets hot as well; this makes water to evaporate and making the air humid. As this humid hot air reaches the Tibetan Plateau, the Orographic effect occurs creating condensation, and therefore storms and precipitation, this makes the wet season.
On the other hand the opposite happens during dry season. Because of the height and extent of the Tibetan Plateau, it acts as a mechanical barrier for upper tropospheric western winds. In addition, the lowering of the temperature during the winter creates high atmospheric pressure. As temperature of the air decreases it moves down changing the direction of the wind. These changes on the direction of the wind, brings cold and dry air from the Himalayas. This is why there is little to no precipitation during the dry season (Fein & Stephens, 1987, p.332). This constant cycle between dry and wet season, or Indian monsoon, greatly influences the activities and culture of this region. The people of India have great festivals to celebrate the coming of the monsoon. There are also beautiful poems dedicated to the monsoon dating
The monsoon is a yearly cycle, where the direction of the wind changes, bringing storms and rainfall to the land, and when the wind changes again it brings drought to the land. This creates a wet and a dry season in some areas, such as the Indian region. However, this is not a set of wet and dry seasons, the monsoon varies from year to year and even from day to day. The word “monsoon” is believed to have originated from the Arabic word mausem, which itself means “season” (Fein & Stephens, 1987, p.3). During the wet season of the monsoon intensive, storms and rainfall occurs. In the case of the Indian monsoon, during the summer the temperature rises, this makes the air hot. When air gets hot it rises, because the density of the molecules decreases. This creates a low atmospheric pressure, this low pressure acts as a vacuum system, bringing more and more air up. The Indian Ocean gets hot as well; this makes water to evaporate and making the air humid. As this humid hot air reaches the Tibetan Plateau, the Orographic effect occurs creating condensation, and therefore storms and precipitation, this makes the wet season.
On the other hand the opposite happens during dry season. Because of the height and extent of the Tibetan Plateau, it acts as a mechanical barrier for upper tropospheric western winds. In addition, the lowering of the temperature during the winter creates high atmospheric pressure. As temperature of the air decreases it moves down changing the direction of the wind. These changes on the direction of the wind, brings cold and dry air from the Himalayas. This is why there is little to no precipitation during the dry season (Fein & Stephens, 1987, p.332). This constant cycle between dry and wet season, or Indian monsoon, greatly influences the activities and culture of this region. The people of India have great festivals to celebrate the coming of the monsoon. There are also beautiful poems dedicated to the monsoon dating
References: Bryant, E. (2005). Natural hazards. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Top of Form Fein, J. S., & Stephens, P. L. (1987). Monsoons. New York: Wiley. Population Reference Bureau. (2009). World Population Data Sheet. Retrieved July 22, 2010 from http://www.prb.org/publications/datasheets/2009/2009wpds.aspx. Bottom of Form Vliert, E. . (2009). Climate, affluence, and culture. New York: Cambridge University Press. Wang, B. (2006). The Asian Monsoon. Springer Praxis Books. Berlin, Heidelberg: Praxis Publishing Ltd, Chichester, UK.