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Weather and the seasons of India

Tell weather from climate, learn the four main seasons of India with their months, and see how the monsoon brings rain to the country.

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Let us begin

The big idea

Is it hot or cold today? Sunny or rainy? That is the weather. Over the year the weather changes in a pattern, giving us seasons. In this lesson you will learn about the seasons of India and the famous monsoon.

Weather is what the air is doing at one place right now: hot, cold, windy, cloudy, rainy or dry. It can change within a day. Climate is the usual weather of a place over many years. Rajasthan has a hot, dry climate; Kerala has a warm, wet climate; the high Himalaya is cold.

India has four main seasons. Summer runs from March to May and is hot and dry, with the hottest days in May and June. The monsoon or rainy season runs from June to September, when winds from the sea bring heavy rain. Autumn in October and November is mild as the rains go away. Winter runs from December to February and is cool in the south and cold in the north.

The word monsoon comes from the seasonal winds. In summer the land gets hotter than the sea, so moist winds blow in from the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. They rise over hills and cool, and the water vapour in them falls as rain. Kerala usually gets the first monsoon rain at the start of June, and the rain then spreads north across the country.

The monsoon matters a lot. Farmers plant rice and other crops with the first rains, rivers and wells fill up, and the land turns green. Too little rain brings drought, and too much brings floods.

In the old Indian calendar there are six seasons called ritus: Vasant (spring), Grishma (summer), Varsha (rains), Sharad (autumn), Hemant (early winter) and Shishir (late winter). Many festivals follow these seasons.

The seasons wheel of IndiaA circle divided into four coloured parts like a wheel. Starting at the top and going clockwise: summer with March to May, monsoon with June to September, autumn with October to November, and winter with December to February. An arrow shows the year going round. Summer Mar to May hot, dry Monsoon Jun to Sep heavy rain Autumn Oct to Nov mild, clear Winter Dec to Feb cool, cold the year goes round Four seasons, one after another, every year
The year goes round the wheel: summer, monsoon, autumn, winter, and back to summer.

Worked examples

See how it works

  1. Weather or climate?

    It rained in Jaipur this afternoon: that is weather, because it is about one day. Jaipur is usually hot and dry: that is climate, because it is about what happens year after year.

  2. Which season is it?

    It is the middle of July. Clouds cover the sky, it rains most days and farmers are busy planting rice. This is the monsoon season, which runs from June to September.

  3. Why hills get more rain

    Moist monsoon wind blowing from the sea meets the Western Ghats. The wind is pushed up, cools, and its water vapour turns into rain on the seaward side. That is why the coast of Kerala and Karnataka gets heavy rain while the land beyond the hills gets much less.

Try it at home

Keep a weather diary

You will need

  • A notebook and a pencil
  • A bottle cap or small cup to catch rain in the monsoon
  • A window to look out of

What to do

  1. Every morning for two weeks, write the date and tick one word: sunny, cloudy, rainy or windy.
  2. Note whether it feels hot, warm, cool or cold.
  3. In the rainy season, keep the cup outside and mark how high the water is each evening, then empty it.
  4. At the end of two weeks, count how many days were sunny, cloudy and rainy.
  5. Decide which season you are in and check it against the months in this lesson.

Ask a grown-up: Ask an adult before placing the cup outside or on a balcony.

Practice sheet

Check what you learned

Write your answers in a notebook, or print this sheet and write on it. When you finish, mark your work with the answer key.

Practice sheet: Weather and the seasons of India (Classes 3-5, Science)

  1. What is the difference between weather and climate?
  2. Which months are the summer season in India?
  3. Which months are the monsoon season?
  4. From which direction do the monsoon winds come: from the land or from the sea?
  5. Which state usually gets the first monsoon rain?
  6. Which season comes after the monsoon?
  7. Which months are the winter season?
  8. Why do the Western Ghats get heavy rain?
  9. Name the six ritus of the old Indian calendar.
  10. What happens to farmers if the monsoon brings very little rain?

Answer key

Answers: Weather and the seasons of India

Do the practice sheet first, then check here. If an answer is different from yours, read the lesson again and try once more.

  1. Weather is the condition of the air at one place right now; climate is the usual weather over many years.
  2. March to May.
  3. June to September.
  4. From the sea (the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal).
  5. Kerala, at the start of June.
  6. Autumn (October and November).
  7. December to February.
  8. Moist sea winds are pushed up by the hills, cool down, and their water vapour falls as rain.
  9. Vasant, Grishma, Varsha, Sharad, Hemant, Shishir.
  10. Drought: crops fail because there is not enough water.

What next

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