Let it pour
DR. CHANDRA SHEKHAR BALACHANDRAN
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The heat of May has been cooled off by the onset of the monsoon. We can now revel in the cool air and the pleasant showers and watch the greening of the earth.
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The first rain reminds me Of the rising summer dust. The rain doesn't remember the rain of yesteryear. - The First Rain by Yehuda Amichai
The monsoon has arrived and with it great joy. The heat of summer has given way to cooler weather. With rain comes the hope of new life, new beginnings. It is the sheer joy of watching the rain as it wets the earth that has inspired poets and writers to sing paeans to this wonder of nature. Watch the monsoon as it progresses and see how it transforms the earth into something magical and wonderful.
Follow the monsoon
This year, pay attention to the arrival of the monsoon wherever you live in India. Write down the date. Observe how the whole environment changes just before it rains, during the rains, and after the rains. Notice how you, yourself, feel.
How would you like to express your feelings about this year's southwest monsoon? Photographs? Art? Poetry? Essay?
For more details, cool interactives, and projects visit the GeoVidyaa blog at http://tiigs.org
Photo : AP
Getting to school : Water, water everywhere.
For more information check out these links:
http://www.imd.gov.in/section/nhac/dynamic/mon-prog.htm – Predicted 2010 monsoon progression
http://www.imd.gov.in/section/satmet/dynamic/insatsector-ir.htm - Current satellite image of clouds. Can be accessed to get the satellite image closest to the date of publication of the article
“Rain, rain go away… little Johnny wants to play” is a silly rhyme to sing in India. Because, here, we welcome the rain; we pray for rain. There are songs in every language asking rain to come on time. When the rain arrives we rejoice by going out and playing in the rain!
It's that time of the year. The (southwest) monsoon has arrived! All of India is keenly watching to see how good the rain will be. How do these rains occur? It's a very complex system, but here is a very simple explanation.
By June in India, the sun's rays increasingly fall directly (vertically) on our latitudes. This is because Earth's position in relation to the sun tilts the northern latitudes to face the sun more and more.
On June 21, the sun is directly over the Tropic of Cancer (231/2° North). This latitude passes very close to Gandhinagar, Bhopal, Ranchi, Agartala, and Aizawl.
As the sun's position shifts from the equator (0° latitude) to 231/2°N, the areas directly under the sun get hotter. Land areas heat up more quickly than the water areas.
The land transfers its heat to the air above it. The heated air rises. This means the atmospheric pressure over the land decreases.
The same is happening overthe water areas (Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea, and Bay of Bengal). But there are two important differences. The water heats more slowly and a lot of water vapour is formed. This water vapour is like any other gas. Because of its heat, it rises.
How it happens
Air moves from higher pressure to lower pressure. The air from over the seas (higher pressure), rushes in towards the lower pressure areas (over land).
As they race towards central India, they run into a huge high wall! The Western Ghats! They can't go back — there is more and more wind rushing in and pushing them. They can't go forward, the Ghats are in the way. The only way they can proceed is to go upwards.
When they rise, these winds start cooling! Because of this the water vapour condenses into drops. Liquid water is heavier than water vapour (gas). Billions and billions of water drops fall to Earth — this is ‘torrential rain'!
Photo : Akhilesh Kumar
What a wonderful feeling : A walk in the rain.
Because these are seasonal winds (monsoons) coming from the southwest, they are called ‘southwest monsoon', and ‘wet monsoon' because they bring so much rain.
Until these rains come, the lands have experienced several months of dry heat. The crops need water to grow. In the forests, animals need the water not just to drink but also to stay cool. The plants in the forests need water to grow. Without these plants, the animals will have no food or shelter. It is the season for animals to reproduce.
For millennia, people living in India have depended on these rains for producing enough food. The rains are not just for producing food, but they bring new life. They are our life! Indian culture is closely tied to these rains.
The writer is a Cultural Geographer and Director, The Indian Institute of Geographical Studies, Bangalore.
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