Give an account of weather conditions and characteristics of the cold season.
Following are the features of the cold season:
→ The winter season begins from mid-November and till February; in northern India.
→ December and January are the coldest months in the northern part of India.
→ The temperature ranges between 10°-15°C in the northern plains, while it ranges between 24°-25°C in Chennai.
→ Days are warm and nights are cold.
→ Frost is common in the north and the higher slopes of the Himalayas experience snowfall.
→ The northeast trade winds prevail over the country in this season. As these winds blow from land to sea, most parts of the country experience a dry season.
→ The weather is usually marked by clear sky, low temperatures and low humidity and weak variable winds.
→ The inflow of the cyclonic disturbances from the west and the northwest is a characteristic feature of the cold weather over the northern plains.
→ These low-pressure systems originate over the Mediterranean Sea and Western Asia and move into India. They cause winter rains over the plains and snowfall in the mountains.
→ The winter rainfall is in small amount but is very important for the rabi crop. This rainfall is locally known as mahawat.
→ The peninsular region does not have a well- defined cold season due to the moderating influence of the sea.
