Climates of India
Weather, seasons and climate
Learn the difference between weather, seasons and climate.
People often say climate when they mean weather. What's the difference?
| Weather | Season | Climate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| time | an hour, a day | a few months, back every year | several decades |
| example | raining right now | the monsoon months | the usual pattern of a region |
| changes? | all the time | in a yearly cycle | stays stable for a long time |
Seasons happen as the Earth goes round the Sun. They link to both weather and climate: the weather changes with the season (hot and dry in summer, humid and rainy in the monsoon), and the pattern of seasons belongs to a region's climate.
Most of the world has four seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter. India has a rainy season, the monsoon, as well.
Traditionally, many parts of India divide the year into six ṛitus:
| ṛitu | season |
|---|---|
| vasanta | spring |
| grīṣhma | summer |
| varṣhā | rainy season |
| śharad | autumn |
| hemanta | pre-winter |
| śhiśhir | winter |
Festivals go with them, like Vasanta Pañchamī and Śharad Pūrṇimā.
Life keeps time with the seasons: the crops we grow, the food we eat, the clothes we wear. Some trees bloom in spring and others shed leaves in autumn; some animals grow thick fur for the cold. Maybe for you the first monsoon rain means a new school year and the smell of new books!
One warning for later: climate usually stays the same for a long time, but scientists have recorded changes in recent decades, and many are caused by human actions.
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