Climate of Punjab:-
Introduction:-
Climate can be defined as the average weather experienced by a region over a period of time. There are various deciding factors for climatic changes like precipitation, temperature, clouds, wind and sunshine. Climate governs the various factors like economic development, clothing, food habits, cultural and social living of the region.
Punjab is situated in the North-Eastern part of India. The Punjab Climate is determined by the extreme hot and extreme cold conditions. The region lying near the foot hills of Himalayas receive heavy rainfall whereas the region lying at a distant from the hills, the rainfall is scanty and the temperature is high. Punjab Climate comprises of three seasons. They are the summer months that spans from mid April to the end of June. The rainy season in Punjab is from the months of early July to end of September. The winter season in Punjab is experienced during the months of early December to the end of February. The transitional Seasons in Punjab are the post monsoon season and the post winter season. Summer in Punjab actually commences from mid April. But the temperature starts rising from February onwards. The summer months are followed by the rainy seasons. Generally, the rainy season in Punjab begins in the first weeks of July. It ranges from 250mm to 1000mm. The agriculture of the state highly depends on the rains. The monsoon is brought by the monsoonal winds blowing over the Bay of Bengal. The winter season in Punjab is mostly experienced in the month of January, when the temperature falls to 5 degree in the night and it is around 12 degree in the morning. The post monsoonal transitional season remains quite fair and dry. In the post winter transitional season, hail storms and brief showers occur which causes damage to the crops. During the end of the March, the wind becomes dry. The Punjab Climate has been a great factor in contributing to the economy of the state.
Climate of Punjab is tropical , semi arid, hot and subtropical monsoon type with cold winter and hot summer. State experience four seasons Cold Season from November to March, hot season from April to June, Monsoon season from last week of June to the first week of September and post monsoon or transition season from Sept till beginning of November. Hot season i.e April to June weather is relatively dry and uncomfortable. Weather tends to be humid during July –September due to increased moisture contents in the air, However these months are comfortable due reduced day temperature.
Seasons:-
Punjab state experiences three main seasons. They are:
- Hot Season (mid-April to the end of June)
- Rainy Season ( early July to the end of September)
- Cold Season (early December to the end of February)
Apart from these three main seasons, the state also experiences transitional seasons like:
- Pre-summer season (Mar to mid of April): This is the period of transition between winter and summer season.
- Post-monsoon season (Sep to Nov end). This is the period of transition between monsoon and winter season.
Summer Season:-
The area starts experiencing mild hot temperature from February month. However, actual summer season commences from mid of April. The area experiences pressure variations during summer months. The atmospheric pressure of the region remains at 987 mili bars during February month and it touches 970 mili bars in June.
Rainy Season:-
Monsoon brings joy to the agriculture field as it is the time when farmers become very busy. Monsoon in the state begins in first week of July and it is the monsoon currents generated in Bay of Bengal which brings rain in the region.
Winter Season:-
Temperature variation is minimal in January month. The mean night and day temperature fall to 5oC and 12oC respectively. Winter season in northern part are blight for the poor who cannot arrange for protection against cold climate. However, the wealthy people thoroughly enjoy winter climate.
Post-Monsoon Transitional Season:-
Monsoon begins to reduce by the second week of September. This brings in a gradual change in climate and temperature. The period between October and November is the transitional period between monsoon and winter seasons. Weather during this period is generally fair and dry.
Post-Winter Transitional Season:-
The effect of winter season diminishes by the first week of March. Hot summer season commences from mid April. This period is marked by occasional showers with hail storm and squalls which causes extensive damage to crops. The winds remain dry and warm during the last week of March commencing the harvest period.
Temperature:-
The geographical and sub-tropical latitudinal location of Punjab makes large variation in temperature from month to month. Even though only limited region experience temperature below 0o C, ground frost is commonly found in majority of the areas in winter season. The temperature rises gradually with high presence of moisture and overcast sky. However, the rise in temperature is steep when sky is clear and moisture content is very less in air.
The mid May and June months records the maximum temperature. The temperature remains above 40oC in the entire region during this period. Ludhiana recorded the highest maximum temperature at 46.1oC with Patiala and Amritsar recording 45.5o C. The maximum temperature during the summer months in Ludhiana remains above 41o C for a duration of one and a half months. These areas experience lowest temperature during the January month. The sun rays are oblique during these months and the cold winds control the rise temperature at day time.
Punjab state experiences minimum temperature during December to February months. The lowest temperature was recorded at Amritsar (0.2o C) and Ludhiana stood second with 0.5oC. The minimum temperature of the region remains below 5oC for almost two months during the winter season. The highest minimum temperature of these regions in the June month is more than the day temperatures experienced in the Jan and Feb month. Ludhiana experiences minimum temperature above 27o C for more than two months. The annual average temperature in the entire state is approximately 21oC. Further, the mean monthly temperature range varies between 9oC in July to approximately 18oC in Nov month.
Rainfall:-
The total rainfall received by the state ranges between 250 mm and 1000 mm. The regions near the Shivalik Hills experience the maximum and deserts in the west receive the minimum rainfall. The south west monsoon winds bring bulk of rainfall in the state which lasts for three months between July to September. The remaining occasional rainfall is received during winter months. Rainfall experienced by various parts of the state indicates a varying trend. The hilly regions receive rainfall more than 1000 mm. Ropar, Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur and parts of the eastern Patiala region receives rainfall above 750 mm. Almost all the remaining areas receive rainfall in the range of 500 mm. The extreme west region of the state receives rainfall below 250 mm.
Monsoon Rainfall:-
Monsoon season provides most of the rainfall for the region. Punjab region receives rainfall through the monsoon current of the Bay of Bengal. This monsoon current enters Punjab state through the south-east direction in the first week of Jul.
Winter Rainfall:-
The winter season remains very cool with temperature going down below zero degree at some places. Winter season also brings in some western disturbances. The rainfall in winter season provides relief to the farmers as some of the winter crops in the region of Shivalik Hills are entirely dependent on this rainfall. As per the meteorological statistics, the sub-Shivalik area receives more than hundred mm rainfall in the winter months.
Current scenario:-
Punjab has begun experiencing impacts of climate change and urgent steps are needed to help farming communities adapt to this. To begin with, a project is underway to utilize paddy straw for making briquettes which can be used to replace coal in brick kilns. Another adaptation projects relate to management of indigenous livestock facing heat stress.
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