Reading the weather and understanding the seasons
Weather is the condition of the air around us on a particular day: how hot or cold it is, whether it is sunny or cloudy, how windy it is and whether it rains. We measure temperature with a thermometer, rainfall with a rain gauge and wind direction with a wind vane. Climate is the usual pattern of weather in a place over many years, so a desert has a hot, dry climate while hill stations are cool.
India has four main seasons: summer, the rainy monsoon season, autumn and winter. Seasons change because Earth is tilted and moves around the Sun, so different places get different amounts of sunlight during the year. The water cycle brings rain: the Sun heats water in seas and rivers, it evaporates into water vapour, cools high up to form clouds, and falls back as rain, snow or hail.
Why it matters
Farmers plan when to sow and harvest crops by watching the weather and the monsoon. Weather forecasts tell us when to carry an umbrella, warn fishermen about storms and help people prepare for cyclones and heatwaves. Knowing the seasons explains why we wear different clothes and eat different fruits through the year.
Key terms
- Weather
- The condition of the air in a place at a particular time.
- Climate
- The usual weather pattern of a place over many years.
- Rain gauge
- An instrument used to measure how much rain has fallen.
- Water cycle
- The continuous movement of water through evaporation, cloud formation and rain.