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HIMACHAL PRADESH CLIMATOLOGY

himachal pradesh

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H IM AC H A L P RA DE S HCL IMAT O LO GY

LOCAT I ON ON T HE WOR L D MAP BOR DER I NG COU NTR I ES : C H I NA BOR DER I NG STAT ES : JAMMU & KASH MI R , P U N JAB ,H ARYANA U TTAR K HU ND COOR DI NATES : 3 1 . 10 48 ° N , 77 .1 734 ° E

C OO RD I N ATE S 3 1 .1 0 4 8 ° N , 7 7 . 1 7 3 4 ° E

C L I M AT E• The state of Himachal Pradesh,

India is a hilly region and it experiences a pleasant Climate through out the year. It even experiences heavy snow fall during the winter months. The weather of Himachal alters with the change of altitude. The best time to visit the state of Himachal is from September to March.

• The temperature of Himachal Pradesh is highly dependent on altitude. The average altitude of the region is from 350 meter to 700 meter above sea level

C L I M AT I C ZO N E S O N T H E M A P

PH Y S I C A L F E ATU R E S

• Himachal Pradesh occupies an area of 55,673 sq km

• The Himachal Pradesh region can be categorized into the following Geographical Divisions: The Shivaliks or the outer Himalayas,The central zone or the lesser Himalayas,The northern zone or the great Himalayan and Zaskar

• The Chief Rivers of Himachal Pradesh that have a significant contribution towards the Natural prosperity of the state include:Chenab,Beas,Ravi,YamunaSutlej,Spiti.

SPE C I A L F E ATU R E S

• Since the valley is situated in rain shadow area, north of the Pir Panjal ranges the weather remains pleasant and quite comfortable during summers i.e. from May to mid Oct. This is the best season to visit this valley.

• It seldom rains, and the Mercury level does not exceed 300c and never falls below 150 c through out the period

• There is little or no rain in monsoons. The climate remains dry & invigorating. The days are hot and night are extremely cold.

T H E P H Y S IC A L M A P

E C O LO G I C A L S Y ST E M

• The ecology of the Himalayas varies with climate, rainfall, altitude, and soils. The climate ranges from tropical at the base of the mountains to permanent ice and snow at the highest elevations.

• The amount of yearly rainfall increases from west to east along the southern front of the range.

• The survey conducted by Forest Department of India defines total forest area of the state to be 66.52%. However, the total area covered by trees includes just 25.78%.

• The complete vegetation of this region relies on two factors - height and rainfall. The southernmost part of the state is at a lower altitude level and it contains both humid and subtropical dry broadleaf woodlands, along with subtropical moist broadleaf forests.

• The majority of area is covered by Himalayan subtropical broadleaf forests. Apart from this we also have some of the vegetation which is abundant with sal, sisham, chir pine, dry deciduous and moist broad-leafed forests.

• The landscape which falls in temperate regions has some of the prominent trees like oaks, deodar, blue pine, fir and spruce. Some of the commonly found trees in these regions include Alders, birches, rhododendrons and moist alpine scrubs. The rhododendron is a common type of tree in the Shimla region and this is seen in abundance in months between March to May.

Flora

• Himachal has abundant growth of fruits like apple, peaches, plums and berries. It is rightly called the ‘fruit bowl of India’.

• There are plenty of fruit orchards and fruits are exported to various parts of the country and abroad.

• Post winter season the hilly regions and orchards are full of fruits.

• The pleasant climate helps numerous flower varieties like gladiolas, lilies, tulips, chrysanthemums, roses, marigolds, carnations etc to grow in abundance.

FA U N A

• The Western Tragopan (the state bird of Himachal Pradesh) and the Monal pheasant are the prominent birds species found in the region.

• the state animal is snow leopard

• amongst other fauna we have leopards bears etc

– SRAH AN

BHIMA KALI TEMPLE

C L IM AT E R E S P O N S E

FAC T O R S I N F LU E N C I N G:• solar radiation• ambient temperature• air humidity• precipitation• wind• sky condition

SO L A R RA D I AT I O N

• Considering the seasonal influence, Himachal Pradesh receives average insolation of 5.99 kWh/m²/day in the warm summer months of March, April and May; 5.89 kWh/m²/day in the wet monsoon months of June, July, August and September; 3.94 kWh/m²/day in the colder winter months of endOctober, November, December, January and February.

• For the period from March to October the entire physiographic zones of Himachal Pradesh receives insolation above 4 kWh/m²/day, favouring commercial as well as domestic applications of solar energy.

• With the onset of winter by the end of October, the insolation in Himachal Pradesh drops down and a low insolation period prevails till the end of February.

A M B IE N T TE M PE RAT URE

• There is a huge variation in the climatic conditions of Himachal Pradesh due to variation in altitude (450–6500 metres). The climate varies from hot and sub-humid tropical (450–900 metres) in the southern low tracts, warm and temperate (900–1800 metres), cool and temperate (1900–2400 metres) and cold glacial and alpine (2400–4800 metres) in the northern and eastern high elevated mountain ranges.

• By October, nights and mornings are very cold. Snowfall at elevations of nearly 3000 m is about 3 m and lasts from December start to March end. About 4500 m, is perpetual snow.

• The spring season starts from mid February to mid April. The weather is pleasant and comfortable in the season.

W I N D

• Wind speed collected for the 11 sites shows wind speed increase for two occasions in a year.

• The first rise in wind speed happens during March which resides by June/July and again rises in September/October after the rainy season.

• This trend is not seen for Bhuntar where there is a single rise in wind speed reaching its peak in July/August.

PR E C I P I TAT I O N

• The Weather and Climate of Himachal Pradesh becomes very beautiful after the rainy season.

• The landscape of the place become lush green. But heavy rains often cause floods and landslides causing destruction to life and property.

• The highest amount of rainfall that has been recorded in Dharmasala is 3400 mm.

• The annual rainfall of Himachal Pradesh is 2909 to 3800 mm. The average temperature in the summer months vary from 22 degrees to 37 degree Celsius. The temperature varies from 0 degree to 15 degree Celsius.

SKY C O N D I T I O N

• summers :sunny and bright • monsoon: cloudy and misty • winters :clear sky sunny but chilly .

C L I M AT I C ZO N E S

• hot and dry• warm and humid• moderate• cold and cloudy • cold and sunny

index climatic zones

KA N G RASU B T R O P ICA L F OO T H I L L S

M A N A L IH IL LY A ND AL P INE

K IN N A URAL P INE ZO NE

L A H A U L A N D S P I T IHO T A ND DRY

KAT H K H U N ICL IMAT I C CON DI T IO N A FF ECT I NG T HE A RCH I T E CT UR E

• indigenous architecture• locally available resources • emerged out of hard

necessities of the place and lifestyle

• built by themselves • far less specialisation • dwellings of professional

traditions and customs

features

C O N S T R UC T IO N • the roofs are made of slate which

doest let the sun rays pass through and settles the wind

• the houses are usually build of stones and wood for temperature purposes

• as the wood cools down during the summers and gets up during the winters

• also the interior of the house have normal whitewash to keep it simple

• the houses have a strong base himachal being close to earthquake areas have wooden log bases to take the vibration .the houses have slanting roof due to the strong sunrise to reflect .

RA M P U R B US HAH R

PADAM PALACE