GENERAL

CLIMATE AND SEASONS

[The section on ' Climate' is contributed by the Meteorological Department of the Government of India, Pune.]

The climate of this district is characterised by a hot summer, well distributed rainfall during the south-west monsoon season and generally dry weather during the rest of the year. The cold season is from December to February. This is followed by the hot season from March to about the middle of June. The southwest monsoon season is from about mid-June to early October. October and November form the post-monsoon season.

Rainfall.—Records of rainfall in the district are available for a good network of ten raingauge stations for periods ranging from 17 to 94 years. The details of the rainfall at these stations and for the district as a whole are given in tables 1 and 2. The average annual rainfall in the district is 1,470.6 mm (57.89"). The rainfall generally increases from the west towards the east. It varies from 1312.9 mm (51.69") at Chandpur near the western border of the district to 1578.5 mm (62.15") at Gondia near the north-eastern border of the district. The south-west monsoon arrives over the district by about the second week of June. The rainfall during the period from June to September constitutes about 90 percent of the annual normal rainfall. July and August are the months with heavy rainfall, July being the rainiest month. The variation in the annual rainfall from year to year is small. In the fifty year period, 1901 to 1950, the highest annual rainfall amounting to 145 percent of the normal occurred in 1919, while 1920 was the year with the lowest annual rainfall which was 49 percent of the normal. The annual rainfall was less than 80 percent of the normal in 8 years and none of them were consecutive. Considering the annual rainfall at the individual stations it is found that the annual rainfall was less than 80 per cent of the normal in 2 or 3 consecutive years at 4 out of the 10 stations and occurred once only at 3 out of the four stations. However, at Bhandara two consecutive years of such low rainfall occurred twice. Six consecutive years of such low rainfall occurred during 1920 to 1925 at Bodalkasa. It will be seen from table 2 that the annual rainfall in the district was between 1,200 and 1,700 mm (47.24" and 66.93") in 31 years out of 50.

On an average, there are 63 rainy days (i.e., days with rainfall of 2.5 mm—10 cents-or more) in a year in the district. This number varies from 59 at Gumdho to 68 at Sakoli.

The heaviest rainfall recorded in 24 hours at any station in the district was 395.2 mm (15.56") at Pangree on 1937 July 25.

Temperature.— There is a meteorological observatory in the district at Gondia. The records of this observatory may be taken as representative of the meteorological conditions in the district in general. The cold season commences in the district towards the end of November when both day and night temperatures begin to decrease rapidly. December and January are the coldest parts of the year with the mean daily maximum temperature at about 27.7° C (81.9° F) and the mean daily minimum at about 13.1° C (55.6° F). During cold waves which affect the district in association with the passage of western disturbances across north India, the minimum temperature may go down to 7° C (44.6° F). From about the beginning of March both day and night temperatures rise rapidly. May is the hottest month with the mean daily maximum temperature at 42.1° C (107.8° F) and the mean daily minimum at 28.9° C (84.0° F). In the summer season the heat is intense and on many days the temperature may go above 41° C (105.8° F). Thunder showers on some days during the afternoons bring welcome relief. With the onset of the south-west monsoon by about the middle of June both day and night temperature drop down appreciably and the weather becomes pleasant. With the withdrawal of the monsoon by about the first week of October, day temperatures increase slightly and a secondary maximum in day temperatures is reached in October. But night temperatures decrease steadily after the withdrawal of the monsoon. After October day temperatures also decrease progressively.

The highest maximum temperature recorded at Gondia was 46.1°C (115.0° F) on 1954, May 26. The lowest minimum temperature was 6.0° I (44.1° F) on January 3, 1951 and February 12, 1950.

Humidity.— Except during the monsoon season when humidities are high, the air is generally dry during the year. The summer season is the driest part of the year when relative humidities go down to 20 per cent or less in the afternoons.

Cloudiness.— Skies are mostly heavily clouded to overcast during the south-west monsoon season. In the post-monsoon months cloudiness tends to decrease. During the rest of the year the skies are mostly clear or lightly clouded.

Winds.— Winds are generally light to moderate with some increase in wind force during the latter part of the summer and monsoon months. During the monsoon season the winds blow mostly from directions between south-west and north-west. In the period October to February, the winds are mainly northerly to north-easterly in the mornings and north-easterly to easterly in the afternoons. By March, winds from directions between south-west and north-west begin to blow and with the advance of the season they become predominant.

Special weather phenomena.— Depressions which originate in the Bay of Bengal during the monsoon months, in their westward movement across the central parts of the country affect the district and its neighbourhood causing widespread heavy rain and strong winds. Storms and depressions from the Bay of Bengal in the post-monsoon season also occasionally affect the weather over the district. Thunderstorms occur in the summer and south-west monsoon seasons. Duststorms occur occasionally during the summer season.

Tables 3, 4 and 5 give the temperature and humidity, mean wind speed and special weather phenomena for Gondia.

TABLE No. 1

NORMAL'S AND EXTREMES OF RAINFALL

TABLE No. 1(contd.)

NORMALS AND EXTREMES OF RAINFALL

(a) Normal rainfall in mm.

(b) Average number of rainy days (days with rain of 2.5 mm or more).

*Based on all available data up to 1959.

** Years given in brackets.

TABLE No. 2

FREQUENCY OF ANNUAL RAINFALL (DATA 1901-1950)

TABLE No. 3

NORMALS OF TEMPERATURE AND RELATIVE HUMIDITY IN GONDIA

*Hours I.S.T.

TABLE No. 4

MEAN WIND SPEED IN KM/HR. IN GONDIA

TABLE No. 5

SPECIAL WEATHER PHENOMENA IN GONDIA

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