India: Climate, Natural Vegetation, Forests and Wildlife | ICSE Class 8 Geography Notes

This note covers India’s climate, the factors affecting it, seasonal winds and rainfall, natural vegetation, major forest types, the importance of forests, threats to wildlife, and the conservation of forests and animals through protected areas and people’s participation.

What makes India’s climate monsoonal?

Weather is the condition of the atmosphere at a particular time. The atmosphere is the air surrounding the Earth. Climate means the average weather conditions of a place over a long period. Weather can change within a day or week, while climate describes a longer-term pattern.

Weather includes temperature, air pressure, wind, humidity and precipitation. Temperature measures how hot or cold the air is. Humidity means moisture in the air. Precipitation is water falling from the atmosphere, including rain and snow. Air pressure is the pressure exerted by the air, while wind is moving air.

Definition: A monsoon is associated with the seasonal reversal of wind direction. India has a hot monsoonal climate, but this common seasonal pattern contains considerable regional differences.

How can one climate contain regional differences?

The climate of Kerala and Tamil Nadu differs from that of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, although all belong to the broad monsoon type. Temperature, rainfall, winds and the timing of seasons vary between regions. A common climate type does not mean identical weather everywhere.

Most parts of India receive rain during June to September. Coastal Tamil Nadu receives rain at the beginning of the winter season. Snowfall occurs in the Himalayas, while rain is the usual form of precipitation across the rest of the country.

Seasonal variation means change between seasons; regional variation means differences between places. Both matter when studying India. The monsoon provides a shared rhythm, while location, height, surrounding seas and mountains help explain local differences within that rhythm.

Which factors control India’s climate?

Latitude, the angular distance north or south of the Equator, influences temperature. The Equator is the imaginary line dividing Earth into northern and southern halves. The Tropic of Cancer, a line of latitude north of the Equator, passes through central India.

The part of India south of the Tropic of Cancer lies in the tropical zone, the warm belt nearer the Equator. It experiences high temperatures through the year with smaller daily and yearly temperature differences. Northern India experiences greater temperature contrasts.

How do height and mountains affect climate?

Altitude means height above sea level. Temperature decreases with height, making mountain places cooler than plains. Agra and Darjiling are at the same latitude, yet their January temperatures are 16°C and 4°C respectively. Here °C means degrees Celsius, a unit of temperature.

The Himalayas form an important climatic barrier. They protect the subcontinent from cold northern winds and obstruct the moisture-bearing monsoon winds, helping them release moisture within the subcontinent. Their influence concerns both temperature and rainfall.

Relief means the shape and height of the land. Mountains affect the direction and speed of winds and the distribution of rain. A slope facing an incoming wind is the windward slope; the sheltered slope beyond the mountain is the leeward slope.

Why does distance from the sea matter?

Water heats and cools more slowly than land. Coastal places experience the sea’s moderating influence, which reduces temperature extremes. This is called an equable climate. Mumbai and the Konkan coast illustrate this coastal influence.

Delhi, Kanpur and Amritsar lie farther inland and experience stronger seasonal contrasts. Such conditions are called a continental climate. Unequal heating of land and sea also creates seasonal differences in air pressure, contributing to the reversal of monsoon winds.

How does the southwest monsoon bring rain to India?

The southwest monsoon is the moisture-bearing seasonal wind system that approaches India from the southwest. Its development involves seasonal heating, pressure differences and the movement of winds across the ocean. Land and sea do not heat at the same rate.

What is the basic sequence?

1. Strong heating during May intensifies low air pressure over the northwestern plains. Low pressure means pressure lower than that of the surrounding region.
2. By early June, this low pressure attracts winds from the Indian Ocean in the Southern Hemisphere, the half of Earth south of the Equator.
3. These winds cross the Equator and take a southwesterly direction. Their passage over warm ocean waters supplies them with abundant moisture.
4. The winds enter the circulation over India and bring rain. Landforms influence their paths and the places where they release moisture.

This sequence explains the broad land, sea and wind relationship. The monsoon is a complex system; no single theory fully explains it. Local relief and wider atmospheric circulation also matter, so the mechanism should not be reduced to heating alone.

What are the branches and breaks?

The monsoon approaches India in the Arabian Sea branch and the Bay of Bengal branch. The former brings heavy rain to the windward Western Ghats. Parts of the latter move along the Ganga plains and up the Brahmaputra valley.

The sudden beginning of heavy monsoon rain is often called the burst of the monsoon. It brings a substantial fall in temperature. Rain does not then continue without interruption throughout the season.

A break in the monsoon is a dry spell lasting one or more weeks after some days of rain during the southwest monsoon season. Such breaks are quite common. Distinguish this interruption from the initial burst and from the later seasonal withdrawal.

How do India’s four main seasons differ?

India’s annual weather cycle has four main seasons: the cold weather season, hot weather season, southwest monsoon season and retreating monsoon season. Their temperature and rainfall conditions differ, and their effects are not equally strong in every region.

What happens during the cold and hot seasons?

The cold weather season usually begins by mid-November in northern India. December and January are the coldest months in the northern plain. Nights may become very cold. The peninsula has no equally well-defined cold season because of the surrounding seas and proximity to the Equator.

Parts of northwestern India receive winter rain from western disturbances, weather disturbances arriving from the west. Their rain is useful for rabi crops, crops grown during the winter season. Winter conditions therefore include more than low temperatures alone.

April, May and June are summer months in northern India. The loo consists of hot, dry, oppressive winds blowing over the northern plains from Punjab to Bihar, with greater intensity between Delhi and Patna. Coastal southern India has less intense summer heat.

Mango showers are pre-monsoon showers towards the end of summer in Kerala and coastal Karnataka. They help mangoes ripen early. Bengal and Assam also experience evening thunderstorms, showing that the hot season is not completely rainless everywhere.

What changes during the rainy season and withdrawal?

The southwest monsoon brings the main rainy season to most of India during June to September. In October and November, the retreating monsoon, meaning the withdrawing southwest monsoon, marks a change in the seasonal wind and rainfall pattern.

During withdrawal, clear skies and rising temperatures occur while the land remains moist. High temperature combined with humidity produces oppressive October heat. Northern India becomes dry, but the eastern part of the peninsula receives rain.

Northeast monsoon winds pick up moisture while crossing the Bay of Bengal and bring rain to the Tamil Nadu coast. Storms over the bay also contribute to rainfall in this season. The rainy season therefore reaches different regions at different times.

Why is rainfall unevenly distributed across India?

India’s average annual rainfall is about 125 centimetres. Annual rainfall means the total rainfall over a year; centimetres, abbreviated as cm, express the depth of rain. This average conceals large differences between wet coastal and hill regions and drier interior or western regions.

Rainfall depends on the path of moisture-bearing winds and on relief. Mountain slopes facing the winds can receive heavy rain. Places beyond these mountains may receive much less. Rainfall totals alone do not explain the pattern unless wind direction and landforms are also considered.

Case study: Why are the two sides of the Western Ghats different?

Winds from the Arabian Sea rise along the Western Ghats, cool and release moisture. The windward slopes and western coastal plain receive very heavy rainfall, ranging between 250 and 400 cm. This is a clear example of relief influencing rainfall.

After crossing the mountains, the winds descend and become warmer. Their humidity decreases, and they bring little rain to the east of the Western Ghats. This relatively dry region is called a rain-shadow area.

The key shows four rainfall bands: more than 200, 100 to 200, 50 to 100, and less than 50 cm. Dark shading follows the western coastal belt and much of the northeast; dotted low-rainfall areas appear in the northwest and parts of the interior.

See Fig. 4.4 in your NCERT textbook

Rainfall timing also matters. Agriculture benefits from timely, adequately distributed rain. Irregular rainfall can bring droughts or floods, while a sudden monsoon burst can cause soil erosion, the removal of the upper soil layer.

What is natural vegetation, and where do evergreen forests grow?

Natural vegetation is a plant community left undisturbed for a long time, allowing its plants to adjust to local climate and soil. A naturally growing tree and a tree planted under human supervision may belong to the same kind, but their surroundings and development differ.

India’s vegetation varies with rainfall, temperature, altitude and soil. The major types include tropical evergreen, tropical deciduous, thorn, montane and tidal forests. These names describe differences in climatic setting, location or the character of the vegetation. A forest is vegetation in which trees are a major feature.

What conditions favour tropical rain forests?

Tropical evergreen forests, also called tropical rain forests, occur in warm, humid regions. They grow on the western slopes of the Western Ghats, in northeastern hills and in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

These forests occur where annual precipitation exceeds 200 cm and mean annual temperature is above 22°C. Mean annual temperature means the average temperature across the year. Trees can reach 60 metres or more; a metre is a unit of length, abbreviated as m.

The forest has several layers. Shrubs and creepers occur closer to the ground, followed by shorter trees and then tall trees. Shrubs are woody plants smaller than trees; creepers have stems that spread along the ground.

There is no definite common time for these trees to shed their leaves, flower or bear fruit. The forest therefore appears green throughout the year. Evergreen describes this continuing green appearance, rather than an absence of leaf shedding.

Rosewood and ebony are examples of trees found here. In the less rainy parts of these regions, semi-evergreen forests contain a mixture of evergreen and moist deciduous trees. Climbers, plants that grow upwards using support, help give these forests an evergreen character through their growth below the trees.

How do deciduous forests differ from thorn forests?

Tropical deciduous forests are India’s most widespread forests. They are also called monsoon forests and occur in regions receiving 70 to 200 cm of rainfall. Deciduous trees shed their leaves seasonally; the dry season is especially important to their appearance.

What distinguishes moist and dry deciduous forests?

Moist deciduous forests are more pronounced where rainfall is between 100 and 200 cm. They occur along the Himalayan foothills in the northeast, on eastern slopes of the Western Ghats and in Odisha. Examples of their trees include teak, sal, shisham and sandalwood.

Dry deciduous forests grow where rainfall is between 70 and 100 cm. They occur in rainier parts of the peninsula and in the plains of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Tendu, palas, amaltas and khair are examples of their trees.

As the dry season begins, trees in dry deciduous forests shed their leaves completely. Open stretches with trees and patches of grass can give the landscape a park-like appearance. At wetter margins these forests pass into moist deciduous forests; at drier margins they approach thorn forests.

What grows in thorn forests?

Tropical thorn forests include grasses and shrubs in relatively dry areas. They occur in parts of southwest Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Babool, ber, wild date palm, neem and khejri are among the plants found here.

The plants remain leafless for most of the year, giving the vegetation a scrub-like appearance. The rainfall ranges describe broad forest conditions. They should not be turned into a rule that rainfall alone decides every tree found in a region.

How does vegetation change in India’s mountains?

Montane forests are forests of mountain regions. As altitude increases, temperature falls, and vegetation changes accordingly. Mountains therefore contain different vegetation belts, rather than one uniform forest type from the foothills to the highest slopes.

What sequence occurs in the Himalayas?

Deciduous forests occur in the Himalayan foothills. Above them, wet temperate forests occur between 1,000 and 2,000 m. Temperate vegetation grows under cooler conditions than tropical vegetation. Broad-leaved evergreen trees such as oak and chestnut are prominent in parts of this zone.

Pine forests are also well developed between 1,500 and 1,750 m. Deodar grows mainly in the western Himalayas, and its durable wood is valued for construction. Blue pine and spruce appear between 2,225 and 3,048 m.

Higher up, forests give way to alpine vegetation, the vegetation of high mountain regions, and pastures, land used for grazing. Silver fir, juniper, pine, birch and rhododendron occur between 3,000 and 4,000 m.

At still higher altitudes, mosses and lichens form part of tundra vegetation, low-growing vegetation associated with severe cold. The southern Himalayan slopes have thicker vegetation because they receive relatively higher precipitation than the drier north-facing slopes.

Are mountain forests confined to the Himalayas?

Southern mountain forests occur in the Western Ghats, Vindhyas and Nilgiris. Higher regions have temperate vegetation, while lower parts of the Western Ghats have vegetation of the warmer belt adjoining the tropics.

The temperate forests of the Nilgiri, Anaimalai and Palani hills are called sholas. Magnolia, laurel, cinchona and wattle are among the economically important trees of southern mountain forests. Mountain vegetation therefore depends on both height and regional location.

Where are tidal forests found, and how can vegetation be mapped?

Tidal forests are associated with coastal areas affected by the rise and fall of seawater. Mangroves are an important part of this vegetation. Mangroves are salt-tolerant plants that grow in coastal wetlands, including salt marshes and muddy tidal areas.

What makes the mangrove environment distinctive?

Mangroves grow along coasts, in tidal creeks, mud flats and estuaries. A tidal creek is a narrow water channel affected by tides; an estuary is the tidal mouth of a river. Channels of standing water and tidal flows cross these forests, providing shelter for many birds.

In India, mangroves are highly developed in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the Sunderbans of West Bengal. They also occur in the Mahanadi, Godavari and Krishna deltas. A delta is low land built by river deposits near a river’s mouth.

These forests face encroachment, meaning the taking over of forest land for other uses. Their protection matters because conservation must include coastal vegetation as well as inland forests. A forest need not stand on dry land to provide important shelter for wildlife.

How does a vegetation map connect climate and location?

The legend distinguishes littoral and swamp forest, montane forest, tropical thorn forest, tropical deciduous forests, and tropical evergreen and semi-evergreen forests. Dotted montane areas follow the northern mountains. Black patches identify littoral and swamp forests along parts of the eastern coast.

See Fig. 5.2 in your NCERT textbook

Littoral means coastal; a swamp is waterlogged land. Compare the vegetation map with the rainfall map: wet western and northeastern regions support evergreen vegetation, while much of the interior has deciduous forests. The mountain belt adds altitude to this rainfall relationship.

Why are forests and wildlife important, and what threatens them?

Wildlife includes animals living in their natural surroundings. A habitat is the natural place where an organism, an individual living thing, lives. Forests provide habitats, while also supplying timber, fuel, food and materials used by people.

Biodiversity means the variety of living organisms, their relationships with one another and their environment. The plants of an area are its flora; its animals are its fauna. Protecting both helps conserve the variety of life within an area.

How do forests support people and the environment?

Many tribal communities depend on forests for food, fruits, edible leaves, honey and roots. Forest materials support house building, crafts and livelihoods. Forest conservation must therefore consider the needs and knowledge of people who depend on forests.

Forests also help protect soil and maintain environmental balance. An ecosystem includes the plants, animals and microorganisms of an area together with non-living surroundings such as climate and soil. Microorganisms are living things too small to see individually without magnification.

What happens when forests are cleared?

Deforestation means clearing forests and using the land for other purposes. Agriculture, settlements, factories, roads, mining and reservoirs put pressure on forests. Cutting wood for fuel and other uses adds to this pressure. Forest fires and severe droughts can also destroy forests.

With fewer trees, soil erosion increases. Removal of topsoil exposes harder, less fertile layers. Desertification is the gradual conversion of fertile land into desert. Deforestation also reduces the soil’s ability to hold water and absorb it from the surface.

Wildlife suffers when habitats are disturbed or lost. Grazing by domestic cattle, forest fires and hunting add further pressure. Poaching means illegal hunting or capture of wild animals. Protecting animals requires protecting the places and conditions that allow them to survive.

How can forests and wildlife be conserved?

Conservation means protecting and managing natural resources so that they can continue to support life. Forest conservation includes protecting existing forests, restoring damaged forests and involving local people. Wildlife conservation includes safeguarding both animals and their habitats.

How do tree planting and community participation help?

Reforestation means restocking destroyed forests by planting new trees. The planted trees should generally be of the same species as those originally present. A species is a group of organisms with common features whose members can reproduce fertile offspring with one another.

Social forestry combines forest protection and tree planting on barren land with environmental, social and rural development. Barren land is land without vegetation. This approach connects the needs of people with the protection and renewal of tree resources.

Agro-forestry means growing trees and agricultural crops on the same land. Community forestry means raising trees on public or community land, such as village land, roadsides and canal banks. Its benefits are intended for the community as a whole.

Farm forestry means farmers growing trees on their own farmland for commercial and non-commercial purposes. Trees may be raised around fields and homes. People can also save, reuse and recycle paper, reducing the demand for trees and saving manufacturing energy and water.

Why are species and habitat protection linked?

Endangered animals have declined to numbers at which they might face extinction. Extinction means the disappearance of a species. Endemic species occur naturally only in a particular area; this describes their distribution, not necessarily their risk of disappearing.

Project Tiger, launched in 1973, aims to maintain viable tiger populations and preserve biologically important areas. Viable populations are those capable of continuing to survive. Project Elephant, launched in 1992, aims at the long-term survival of identified wild elephant populations in their natural habitats.

These projects connect the survival of an animal with the conservation of its surroundings. Tree planting, reduced pressure on forests and protection of existing habitats complement one another. Conservation also depends on individuals understanding its importance and contributing to it.

How do protected areas conserve India’s natural heritage?

Protected areas are places set aside for the conservation of plants, animals and their surroundings. National parks, wildlife sanctuaries and biosphere reserves are important examples. They protect living organisms in the landscapes on which those organisms depend.

A biosphere reserve may contain a national park and wildlife sanctuaries within it. These terms are therefore not interchangeable names for an identical kind of place. A large conservation area can include several smaller protected areas with related purposes.

Case study: What does Pachmarhi show about conservation?

The Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve contains Satpura National Park and the Bori and Pachmarhi wildlife sanctuaries. This arrangement illustrates how a biosphere reserve can bring different protected areas within a larger conservation landscape.

Its flora includes sal, teak, mango, jamun, silver ferns and arjun. Its fauna includes chinkara, blue-bull, barking deer, cheetal, leopard, wild dog and wolf. These examples distinguish the plant life from the animal life protected within the same region.

Satpura National Park also contains rock shelters with paintings that provide evidence of prehistoric human life. Protection can therefore include landscape and historical features as well as plants and animals. Pachmarhi’s example links natural heritage with evidence of people’s earlier lives.

Why does protection require continued care?

Giving an area protected status does not remove every threat. Encroachment can still damage protected forests. Effective conservation requires continued protection of habitats and responsible behaviour towards animals, rather than disturbing or capturing them.

Small animals also matter. Snakes, frogs, lizards, bats and owls have roles in ecosystems. Conservation should not focus solely on large, familiar animals: the variety of living things and their relationships make a functioning natural environment.

Glossary

• Climate — The average pattern of weather conditions experienced by a place over a long period.
• Monsoon — A seasonal wind system associated with a reversal in the direction of winds.
• Precipitation — Water falling from the atmosphere to Earth, including rain and snow.
• Altitude — The height of a place above sea level, influencing its temperature and vegetation.
• Rain shadow — A relatively dry area beyond a mountain barrier crossed by moisture-bearing winds.
• Natural vegetation — A plant community left undisturbed long enough to adjust to local climate and soil.
• Deciduous forest — A forest containing trees that shed their leaves during a particular season.
• Montane forest — Forest vegetation in mountain regions, changing with altitude as temperature decreases.
• Mangroves — Salt-tolerant plants growing in coastal wetlands affected by tidal water.
• Biodiversity — The variety of living organisms, their interrelationships and their relationships with the environment.
• Habitat — The natural surroundings in which a plant or animal lives.
• Deforestation — The clearing of forests and use of that land for other purposes.
• Reforestation — The restocking of destroyed forests through the planting of new trees.
• Endangered animals — Animals whose numbers have declined enough that they might face extinction.
• Biosphere reserve — A large protected area conserving biodiversity and the traditional life of tribal communities.

Common errors and misconceptions

• Misconception: Weather and climate mean the same thing. Correct: Weather describes atmospheric conditions at a particular time; climate describes average conditions over a long period.
• Misconception: A monsoon simply means continuous rain. Correct: It involves a seasonal reversal of winds, and the rainy season can contain breaks.
• Misconception: Every part of India receives its main rain at the same time. Correct: Most receive rain during June to September, while coastal Tamil Nadu receives rain at the beginning of winter.
• Misconception: Evergreen trees do not shed leaves. Correct: They have no definite common time for shedding, so the forest appears green throughout the year.
• Misconception: Mountain vegetation remains unchanged with height. Correct: Falling temperature with increasing altitude produces a succession of vegetation types.
• Misconception: Endemic and endangered mean the same thing. Correct: Endemic describes a restricted natural distribution; endangered describes the possibility of extinction as numbers decline.
• Misconception: Protected status automatically removes all danger to forests. Correct: Encroachment and disturbance can still threaten protected areas, so continued conservation is necessary.

Exam-style questions with model answers

Q1. Weather describes atmospheric conditions at a particular time and can change within a day or week. Climate describes average weather over a long period and changes gradually over much longer periods. State two differences: one about the period described and one about the speed of change. [2 marks]

1. Weather describes conditions at a particular time, whereas climate describes average conditions over a long period.
2. Weather can change quickly within a day or week, whereas climate changes gradually over much longer periods.

Q2. Water heats and cools more slowly than land. Mumbai is coastal, while Delhi is inland and farther from the sea’s moderating influence. Explain their contrasting temperature conditions in three points. [3 marks]

1. Water changes temperature more slowly than land, so the nearby sea moderates the heating and cooling experienced by a coastal place.
2. Mumbai is on the coast and experiences this moderating influence, giving it an equable climate with reduced temperature extremes.
3. Delhi is farther inland and receives less of this influence, so its continental climate has stronger seasonal contrasts than the coastal climate.

Q3. Arabian Sea winds rise over the Western Ghats, cool and release moisture. Beyond the mountains they descend, warm and lose humidity. Explain the windward rainfall and the rain shadow in four steps. [4 marks]

1. Moist winds from the Arabian Sea encounter the Western Ghats and are forced to rise along the windward slopes.
2. As the rising winds cool, they release moisture, bringing heavy rainfall to the slopes facing the incoming winds.
3. After crossing the mountains, the winds descend and become warmer, reducing their humidity on the sheltered side.
4. These winds bring little rain east of the Western Ghats, creating the relatively dry region called the rain shadow.

Q4. Evergreen forests occur with annual precipitation over 200 cm and have no common leaf-shedding season. Dry deciduous forests occur with 70 to 100 cm rainfall and shed their leaves completely as the dry season begins. Give two contrasts. Here cm means centimetres. [2 marks]

1. Evergreen forests have wetter conditions, with precipitation over 200 cm; dry deciduous forests occur with 70 to 100 cm rainfall.
2. Evergreen forests have no common leaf-shedding season, while dry deciduous forests shed their leaves completely as the dry season begins.

Q5. Use these facts to explain five controls on Indian climate: southern India is nearer the Equator; temperature falls with height; the sea moderates coastal temperatures; the Himalayas obstruct cold northern winds; mountain slopes facing moist winds receive heavy rain. [5 marks]

1. Latitude influences temperature. Southern India lies nearer the Equator, linking its climate with the warmer conditions associated with that part of the Earth.
2. Altitude influences temperature because temperature decreases with increasing height. Mountain places are therefore cooler than lower places under this relationship.
3. Distance from the sea affects temperature contrasts. Coastal areas receive the moderating influence of the sea, which reduces their temperature extremes.
4. The Himalayas act as a climatic barrier. Their obstruction of cold northern winds helps protect the Indian subcontinent from those winds.
5. Relief affects rainfall distribution. Mountain slopes that face incoming moisture-bearing winds receive heavy rain, connecting the land’s shape with its rainfall pattern.

Q6. Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve contains Satpura National Park and Bori and Pachmarhi wildlife sanctuaries. Its flora includes sal and teak; its fauna includes leopard and cheetal. Flora means plant life and fauna means animal life. What three conservation features do these facts demonstrate? [3 marks]

1. A biosphere reserve can include other protected areas: Pachmarhi contains one named national park and two named wildlife sanctuaries within the larger reserve.
2. Its conservation includes plant life, described as flora. The given examples, sal and teak, identify trees that form part of this plant life.
3. Its conservation also includes animal life, described as fauna. Leopard and cheetal show that the same larger area protects animals as well as plants.

Q7. Forests supply food and materials and provide animal habitats. Clearing them increases soil erosion, exposes less fertile layers and reduces the soil’s ability to absorb and hold water. Using these facts, give five reasons for conserving forests. [5 marks]

1. Conserving forests protects a source of food for people who depend on them. Clearing forests would remove the resources supplied by this source.
2. Conservation maintains the supply of forest materials used by people. Forest protection therefore matters to people’s material needs as well as their food supply.
3. Conserving forests protects animal habitats. Animals require suitable living surroundings, so maintaining forest areas supports the places in which they live.
4. Forest protection helps limit soil erosion. This reduces the removal of upper soil and the exposure of the less fertile layers beneath it.
5. Conservation helps maintain the soil’s ability to absorb and hold water. Clearing forests reduces both abilities, weakening this useful function of forest soil.

Key takeaways

• India has a monsoonal climate, but temperature, rainfall and the timing of seasons vary considerably between regions.
• Latitude, altitude, surrounding seas, the Himalayas and local relief together influence India’s climatic conditions.
• The southwest monsoon supplies the main rainy season to most of India, while coastal Tamil Nadu receives important winter-season rain.
• Evergreen, deciduous, thorn, montane and tidal forests reflect differences in rainfall, temperature, height and coastal conditions.
• Forests support wildlife habitats, protect soil and provide food, materials and livelihoods for many people.
• Conserving wildlife requires protecting its habitats and recognising the importance of both large and small animals.
• Protected areas, reforestation, community forestry and careful use of forest products contribute to conservation.
• Pachmarhi demonstrates that a biosphere reserve can contain a national park and wildlife sanctuaries within its wider area.

Test yourself

What is the defining wind characteristic of a monsoon?

A monsoon involves a seasonal reversal in the direction of winds.

Why are mountain places cooler than plains?

Temperature decreases with increasing altitude, so higher mountain places experience cooler conditions.

What is the difference between a monsoon burst and a break?

A burst is the sudden onset of heavy monsoon rain. A break is a dry spell of one or more weeks after some rainy days.

Why do tropical evergreen forests appear green throughout the year?

Their trees have no definite common time for shedding leaves, so the forest retains its green appearance.

What does a rain shadow describe?

It describes a relatively dry region beyond mountains, where descending winds bring little rainfall.

Name two Indian regions with well-developed mangroves.

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the Sunderbans of West Bengal have well-developed mangrove forests.

How is reforestation different from deforestation?

Deforestation clears forests for other uses; reforestation restocks destroyed forests by planting new trees.

Which protected areas lie within Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve?

It contains Satpura National Park and the Bori and Pachmarhi wildlife sanctuaries.