World Cultures Portfolio/South Asia

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World Cultures South Asia Report about Rainfall

Nuvola apps package network.pngWorld Cultures South Asia Unit

Intro/Basics - Africa - Middle East - South Asia - China - Japan - Korea - Latin America

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  • South Asia Test Topics
  • Lots of Pop-quizzes given - be sure to study constantly and remember all numbers given because quiz questions come from seeming nowhere and cover the smallest bit of minutia
World Cultures Portfolio

Africa: HDI Graph Reflections - Decolonization Report
Middle East: Population Density Report - Essay: A Peaceful Vacation
South Asia: Rainfall Report - South Asia Comparisons Graph - Postcards
China: Sphere of Influences Report - Mao Button Journal
Japan: Natural Resources Report - Japanese Violence Journal
Korea: Physical Map Report
Latin America: Landforms Report
Worldwide: T-Shirt Trade Report

Nuvola apps important.png Only a DRAFT!

May change/be updated - still in progress - may still contain inaccuracies

Rainfall in South Asia varies greatly and has many effects on aspects of South Asian life. Not only does the rainfall map match closely with the climate map, but with the population map. Monsoons have a great deal of effects on the population, morale, and agriculture. India, a large nation, made up of many sections gets affected by many different climates. Dry as deserts, the western side lays, but rain ravages the eastern side. India's rain falls seasonally and unpredictability. But when it differs from it's normal habits, problems, such as floods and droughts emerge.

Various regions and countries make up South Asia. In the north-east lies Afghanistan and Pakistan. Both are very dry, similar to the rest of the Middle East. The Thar Desert exists here, a large dry region in Rajasthan (an Indian state) and Pakistan (Wikipedia). The desert covers 92,200 square miles and receives less then 40 inches of rain per year (WWF via Wikipedia; Textbook). Few people wish to live in this region and thus it's sparsely populated, similar to deserts around the world.

The north-west portion of South Asia contains Nepal, and Bangladesh, among others. The northern part of this region, the part bordering the plains of China, does not receive as much rain, and gets designated "temperate humid" on the Encarta climate map. The region then gets divided into further smaller sub-regions. The largest sub-region climate appears as "winter drought, hot summer." Small different sub-variations with different drought seasons and summer temperatures border this.

As one moves south-west towards Southwest Asia, one moves into the tropics. This region us wetter and receives significantly more rain. Larger populations also crowd this wetter region. For the most part this region borders South East Asia and receives about 200-400 inches per year with some spots receiving up to 400 inches per year (Textbook).

The western ghats also receive a lot of rain. This occurs because of the normal rain-trapping properties of the mountains, which has been seen before in other regions.

In the middle of Sri Lanka, Mount Pidurutalagala receives an excess of 400 inches of rain per year. On the map a small spot of dark green shows the mountains peak. Again the mountains are what cause this small sport of heavy rain.

The rain levels in India vary along with the season. In January, India receives almost no rain except in the southern and north-eastern corners (Encarta Map). However, the story in July differs greatly (Encarta Map). Rainfalls heavily during the summer, especially in the north-eastern corner. However, there's one fluke. A dry patch exists just west of the northern tip of Sri Lanka (Encarta Map). Unfortunately there seems to be no explanation.

Commonly a monsoon gets defined as the rain and wind which comes from southwest India during different seasons (Wikipedia). However, a monsoon, properly defined, represents a wind pattern that reverses direction with the seasons (Wikipedia). And change with the seasons it does, as it can pour inches of rain in the few months from July to September (Baldauf). This provides almost all of India's water for the entire year.

Agriculture powers 70% of India's economy (Baldauf). So when the rains come late, everyone suffers. This causes starvation among the poor villages and hardship in the cities. The rain also partially abates the heat, so when it's missing, everyone feels it (Baldauf). This heat causes a massive demand for air-conditioning, one which the power company can not keep up with. So once again, the lack of rains affect the Indian people.

But as a lack of water brings hardship, so does flooding. Floods, such as the ones near Nepal in 2004 left thousands homeless (Baldauf). Just as flood waters do in the United States, flooding wipes out houses in India, gutting everything in their paths.

So Indians demand a balance of rain each year. But when too much falls, or too little, or not at the right time, Indians suffer. Floods, drought, famine, and power outages can all result from India's haphazard rainfall. In addition, different sections of Inida receive different amounts of rain. This also happens to correspond to the population levels in certain regions.

Sources

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