8

INDIA : CLIMATE,
VEGETATION AND WILDLIFE

You read in newspapers daily and watch on T.V. or

hear others talking about weather. You must know
that weather is about day to day changes in the
atmosphere. It includes changes in temperature,
rainfall and sunshine etc. For example, as such it may
be hot or cold; sunny or cloudy; windy or calm. You
must have noticed that when it is hot continued for
several days you don’t need any warm clothing. You
also like to eat or drink cold things. In contrast there
are days together, you feel cold without woollen clothes
when it is very windy and chilly, you would like to
have something hot to eat.
Broadly, the major seasons recognised in India are:
• Cold Weather Season (Winter) December to
February
• Hot Weather Season (Summer) March to May
• Southwest Monsoon Season (Rainy)
June to September
• Season of Retreating Monsoon (Autumn) October
and November

COLD WEATHER SEASON OR WINTER

During the winter season, cool, dry winds blow from
north to the south. The sun rays do not fall directly in
the region as a result, the temperatures are quite low
in northern India.

HOT WEATHER SEASON OR SUMMER

In the hot weather season sun rays more or less directly
fall in this region. Temperature becomes very high.
Hot and dry winds called loo, blow during the day.
 Let’s have fun :
1. People in all parts of our country drink delicious
cool drinks called Sharbat made from fruits
available in their regions. They are excellent
thirst-quenchers and protect our bodies from the
ill-effect of the harsh ‘loo’. Have you tried
‘Sharbat’, made from raw mango, bel, lemon,
tamarind, kokum, phalsa, watermelon and
buttermilk made from curds; for example
chhaachh, mattha, mori, chash, etc? Many make
banana and mango milkshakes too.
2. After a hot summer, the first rains bring much
joy. All our languages have melodious songs on
‘rains’. They sound happy and bring cheer. Learn
two songs on rains and sing them together.
Write or collect five poems on rains.
Ask your friends, neighbours and family
members for names for rains and other seasons
in different languages. For instance,
Varsha – Hindi Pous – Marathi
Barish – Urdu Borsha – Bengali

SOUTH WEST MONSOON SEASON OR RAINY SEASON

This season is marked by the onset and advance of
monsoon. The winds blow from Arabian Sea and Bay
of Bengal towards the land. They carry moisture with
them. When these winds strike the mountain barriers,
rainfall occurs.

SEASON OF RETREATING MONSOONS OR AUTUMN

Winds move back from the mainland to the Bay of
Bengal. This is the season of the retreating monsoons.
The southern parts of India, particularly Tamil Nadu What would happen if
and Andhra Pradesh receive rainfall in this season. monsoons were weak, or even
worse, failed to occur one year?
However, the climate is about the average weather Tick (9) the correct answer.
condition, which have been measured over many years.
The climate of India has broadly been described as • Crop will be-
affected/not affected
Monsoon type. Monsoon is taken from the Arabic word
‘mausim’, which means seasons. Due to India’s location • The level of the water in a
in the tropical region, most of the rain is brought by well will-
come-up/go-down
monsoon winds. Agriculture in India is dependent on
rains. Good monsoons mean adequate rain and a • Summer will be-
bountiful crop. longer/shorter

INDIA : CLIMATE, VEGETATION AND WILDLIFE 57

 The climate of a place is affected by its location,
Let’s Do
altitude, distance from the sea, and relief. Therefore,
On a map of we experience regional differences in the climate of
India, locate India. Jaisalmer and Bikaner in the desert of Rajasthan
the places are very hot, while Drass and Kargil in Jammu and
mentioned in the Kashmir are freezing cold. Coastal places like Mumbai
paragraph. and Kolkata experience moderate climate. They are
neither too hot nor too cold. Being on the
coast, these places are very humid.
Mawsynram in Meghalaya receives the
world’s highest rainfall, while in a
particular year it might not rain at all in
Jaisalmer in Rajasthan.

NATURAL VEGETATION
We see a variety of plant life in our
surroundings. How nice it is to play in a
field with green grasses. There are also
small plants called bushes and shrubs like
cactus and flowering plants etc. Besides
there are many tall trees some with many
branches and leaves like neem, mango or
some which stand with few leaves such as
palm. The grasses, shrubs and trees, which
grow on their own without interference or
help from human beings are called natural
vegetation. Do you wonder how these differ
from each other. Different types of natural
vegetation are dependent on different
climatic conditions, among which the
amount of rainfall is very important.
Due to varied climatic conditions, India
has a wide range of natural vegetation.
Vegetation of India can be divided into five
types – Tropical evergreen forest, Tropical
deciduous forest, Thorny bushes,
Mountain vegetation and Mangrove
forests.

TROPICAL RAIN FOREST

Figure 8.1 : Tropical Rain Forests Tropical Rain Forests occur in the areas
which receive heavy rainfall. They are so
dense that sunlight doesn’t reach the ground.
Many species of trees are found in these forests,
which shed their leaves at different times of the

58 THE EARTH : OUR HABITAT

year. As a result, they always appear green and are
called evergreen forest look at the Figure 8.1.
I m p o r t a n t t r e e s f o u n d in these forests are
mahogany, ebony and rosewood. Andaman and
Nicobar Islands, parts of North-Eastern states and
a narrow strip of the Western slope of the Western
Ghats are home of these forests.

TROPICAL DECIDUOUS FORESTS

In a large part of our country we have this type of
forest. These forests are also called monsoon forests.
They are less dense. They shed their leaves at a
particular time of the year. Important trees of these
forests are sal, teak, peepal, neem and shisham. They
are found in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,
Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, and in parts of
Maharashtra.

Figure 8.2 : Tropical Deciduous Forests

THORNY BUSHES
This type of vegetation is found in dry areas of the
country. The leaves are in the form of spines to reduce
the loss of water. Cactus, khair, babool, keekar are
important and are found in the states of Rajasthan,
Punjab, Haryana, Eastern slopes of Western Ghats and
Gujarat.

INDIA : CLIMATE, VEGETATION AND WILDLIFE 59

Figure 8.3 : Thorny Bushes

MOUNTAIN VEGETATION
A wide range of species is found in the mountains
according to the variation in height. With increase in
height, the temperature falls. At a height between 1500

Figure 8.4 : Mountain Vegetation

metres and 2500 metres most of the trees

are conical in shape. These trees are called
coniferous trees. Chir, Pine and Deodar are
important trees of these forests.

MANGROVE FORESTS
These forests can survive in saline water.
They are found mainly in Sunderbans in
Figure 8.5 : Mangrove Vegetation

60 THE EARTH : OUR HABITAT

West Bengal and in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Sundari is a well-known species of trees in mangrove
forests after which Sunderbans have been named. Leela’s parents planted a
sapling of “neem” to
WHY ARE FORESTS NECESSARY? celebrate her birth. On
each birthday, a different
Forests are very useful for us. They perform various sapling was planted. It was
functions. Plants release oxygen that we breathe and watered regularly and
absorb carbon dioxide. The roots of the plants bind protected from severe heat,
the soil; thus, they control soil erosion. cold and animals. Children
Forests provide us with timber for furniture, fuel took care not to harm it.
wood, fodder, medicinal plants and herbs, lac, honey, When Leela was 20, twenty-
one beautiful trees, stood in
gum, etc.
and around her house.
Forests are the natural habitat of wild life. Birds built their nests on
Natural vegetation has been destroyed to a large them, flowers bloomed,
extent because of the reckless cutting of trees. We butterflies fluttered around
should plant more trees and protect the existing ones them, children enjoyed
and make people aware of the importance of trees. We their fruits, swung on their
can have special programmes like Van Mahotsav to branches and played in
involve more people in making our earth green. their shade.

Figure 8.6 : Uses of Forests

INDIA : CLIMATE, VEGETATION AND WILDLIFE 61

 WILD LIFE
Forests are home to a variety of wild life. There are
thousands of species of animals and a large variety of
reptiles, amphibians, mammals, birds, insects and
worms which dwell in the forest.

Figure 8.7 : Wildlife

The tiger is our national animal. It is found in

various parts of the country. Gir forest in Gujarat is
the home of Asiatic lions. Elephants and one-horned
rhinoceroses roam in the forests of Assam. Elephants
are also found in Kerala and Karnataka. Camels and
wild asses are found in the the Great Indian desert
and the Rann of Kuchchh. Wild goats, snow leopards,
bears, etc. are found in the Himalayan region. Besides
these, many other animals are found in our country
such as monkey, wolf, jackal, nilgai, cheetal, etc.
India is equally rich in bird life. The peacock is our
national bird. Other common birds are parrots,
pigeons, mynah, geese, bulbul and ducks. There are
several bird sanctuaries which have been created to
give birds their natural habitat. These provide the birds
protection from hunters. Can you name five birds that
are commonly found in your area?

62 THE EARTH : OUR HABITAT

 There are several hundreds of species of snakes found in India. Cobras and
kraits are important among them.
Due to cutting of forests and hunting, several species of wildlife of India are
declining rapidly. Many species have already become extinct.
In order to protect them many national parks, sanctuaries and biosphere reserves
have been set up. The Government has also started Project Tiger and Project
Elephant to protect these animals. Can you name some wildlife sanctuaries of
India and locate them on a map?
You can also contribute in conserving wildlife. You can refuse to buy things
made from parts of the bodies of animals such as their bones, horns, fur, skins,
and feathers. Every year we observe wildlife week in the first week of October, to
create awareness of conserving the habitats of the animal kingdom.

?• Why do poachers kill tigers?

• What will happen if tigers vanish from our forests?
• Have you ever visited any tiger reserves or a zoo where
tigers are kept?

INDIA : CLIMATE, VEGETATION AND WILDLIFE 63

Migratory Birds
Some birds migrate to our
country in the winter
season every year such as
Pelican, Siberian Crane,
Stork, Flamingo, Pintail
Duck, Curlew. Siberian
Cranes migrate from
Siberia; they arrive in
December and stay till
early march.
Stork – a migratory bird

1. Answer the following questions briefly.

(a) Which winds bring rainfall in India? Why is it so important?
(b) Name the different seasons in India.
(c) What is natural vegetation?
(d) Name the different types of vegetation found in India.
(e) What is the difference between evergreen forest and deciduous forest?
(f) Why is tropical rainforest also called evergreen forest?
2. Tick the correct answers.
(a) The world’s highest rainfall occurs in
(i) Mumbai (ii) Asansol (iii) Mawsynram
(b) Mangrove forests can thrive in
(i) saline water (ii) fresh water (iii) polluted water
(c) Mahogany and rosewood trees are found in
(i) mangrove forests
(ii) tropical deciduous forests
(iii) tropical evergreen forests
(d) Wild goat and snow leopards are found in
(i) Himalayan region
(ii) Peninsular region
(iii) Gir forests

64 THE EARTH : OUR HABITAT

 (e) During the south west monsoon period, the moisture laden winds
blow from
(i) land to sea (ii) sea to land (iii) plateau to plains
3. Fill in the blanks.
(a) Hot and dry winds known as ________________ blow during the day in the
summers.
(b) The states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu receive a great amount of
rainfall during the season of________________.
(c) _____________ forest in Gujarat is the home of ________________.
(d) _____________ is a well-known species of mangrove forests.
(e) ____________ are also called mansoon forests.

1. Make a list of trees in your surroundings and collect the pictures of plants,
animals and birds and paste them in your copy.
2. Plant a sapling near your home and nurture it and write down the changes
you observe for a few months.
3. Does any migratory bird come in your locality? Try to idenfity that. Be watchful
in winter season.
4. Visit a zoo in your city or visit a nearby forest or sanctuary with your elders.
Watch various types of wildlife there.

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