The climate of India is strongly influenced by the monsoon winds. The sailors who came to India during the olden days noticed the regular periodic reversal of winds. They used these winds to sail towards the Indian coast. Arab traders named this seasonal reversal of wind system ‘monsoon’.
1. The monsoon forms in the tropical area at approximately between 20°N and 20°S latitudes.
2. The heating of land creates low pressure on the landmass of Indian subcontinent.
3. Southwest monsoon ‘on set’ reaches Kerala and gives rain to Western ghats and Northeast India except in the Coromandel coast.
4. It is operated in two branches, Arabian sea branch and Bay of Bengal branch.
5. Retreat of the monsoon is marked by clear skies and rise in temperature.
6. Lower pressure conditions move to Bay of Bengal by early November.
7. Bulk of the rainfall of the Coromandel coast is derived from depressions and cyclones.
