Transcript Monsoons and Climates of Asia

Monsoons and Climates of
Asia
Austell, GA Sept. 22, 2009
How did flooding affect us here in Georgia?
How would we have been affected if the rain continued for four months?
Can you think of a circumstance where this much rain would be helpful?
Your assignment
Read “Investigating Monsoons” and begin
brainstorming.
• What are monsoons?
• Why do monsoons occur?
• How do monsoons affect people?
Monsoon
• Monsoons are winds that carry moist air
from the Indian Ocean, creating a season
of rain
• Monsoon actually comes from the Arabic
word “mawsin” which means season
• While these rains often cause flooding, the
residents of South and Southeast Asia
depend upon them to grow crops
Two seasons wet and dry.
The cause-- monsoons
• Are caused by the changes of temperature of
the land and ocean throughout the year.
• During the summers the land becomes hotter
than the water. Air that is warmer is less dense
and rises. As it rises cooler air sweeps in to
replace the warm air. The cooler air from the
ocean carries moisture which is deposited onto
the land in the form of rain. (wet monsoons)
• In winter the land is cooler than the ocean so the
warm air over the ocean rises and the cold land
air rushes to replace it. Now you have dry land
conditions. (dry monsoons)
May
(before monsoons)
August
(after)
Orographic Effect
Winds bring warm, moist air from the Indian Ocean, creating rain
in the Western Ghats. On the eastern side of the mountain range,
however, there is a rain shadow
•This is an area where little rain falls
What does this mean for the
people?
Locate Dhaka, Bangladesh on your map
Ten million people live in Dhaka, the capital city
of Bangladesh. For them, July can be a difficult
month. In July 1996, the homes of 3 million
people were flooded, Two years later, 1,500
people died in July floods. Their deaths were
blamed on everything from drowning to disease.
In July 2004, rains left much of Dhaka under
water.
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Bangladesh’s economy depends upon
agriculture. Nearly three out of every five
people farm the country’s rich delta soil.
They rely on monsoon rains to water their
fields. When the summer rains are late,
crops like rice, sugarcane, tea, and
tobacco suffer. When monsoons bring too
much rain too quickly, fields flood.
Floodwaters also pollute the city’s drinking
supply.
Climate graph
Red bar = precipitation (mm)
Blue line = temperature (Celsius)
Notice temperature is relatively constant,
rainfall picks up in monsoon season
Children growing up in Dhaka learn early that the rains that
bring life to local fields can also end life in the city
Now, locate Jodhpur, India
Jodhpur sits at the eastern edge of the Thar
Desert in northern India. This region is a leading
producer of cattle, spices, and grains. It has a
typical semiarid climate. For most of the year,
the weather is hot and dry. Eighty percent of the
people living around Jodhpur are farmers. But
farming is difficult in this dry region. The desert
soil needs a great deal of water to produce
crops. How much rain will come and when will it
arrive are questions people here ask every year.
Jodhpur, India
The rains come late in some years. Or too little
rain falls. When that happens, crops fail.
Drinking water vanishes. Families that run out of
food sometime survive by eating samas, a wild
grass. As people grow weak from hunger,
disease spreads more rapidly.
In July 2002, nearly half of Jodhpur’s crops could
not be planted. The summer monsoons were
late. The worst drought in more than 40 years
had begun.
Jodhpur, India
Now, find Pune, India
Pune is located on the Deccan Plateau in
western India. It is only 115 miles from
Mumbai. Yet Mumbai receives over 70
inches of rain during the summer
monsoons. In contrast, Pune’s rainfall
totals only 29 inches for the entire year.
The people of Pune have learned to get by
with little water. In the past, farmers here
raised sugarcane. Today, they plant sugar
beets, which are more drought resistant.
Pune, India
Living in a rain shadow
Monsoon winds affect the entire
region
But the monsoons aren’t the only
winds that affect Asia!
• Dry winds blow across the high plateaus of
Tibet, Mongolia and western China from further
north.
• The landscape is flat.
• As the winds cross this area especially
Mongolia, they lift little bits of soil into the air and
carry it to the North China Plain and sometimes
beyond to the Koreas and even Japan.
• There it drifts to the ground and create a
yellowish topsoil called loess (prononced less)
• This helps replenish the soil each year.
What about the other climates in
Asia?
You’ve just examined “tropical” or “tropical
monsoon” regions of Asia. These climates
are mostly found between the Tropic of
Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer.
What about the rest of Asia?
Temperate Climates
Areas with temperate climates have four
seasons, with hot summers and cold
winters, usually with some snowfall.
Temperature ranges are high, and
precipitation occurs all year long, but
summers tend to be wetter.
Which of these cities is located in
the temperate climate zone?
Tokyo, Japan
Notice the consistent amount of precipitation
that falls throughout the year and the
greater variance in temperature.
BE SURE TO NOTICE THE DIFFERENCES
IN THE LABELING OF THE AXES!!!
The seasons
in Tokyo, Japan
Arid Climates
Arid means dry, so this type of climate is
characterized by low amounts of
precipitation. Both deserts and steppes
(dry grasslands) are considered arid. This
type of climate can have hot or cold
temperatures, or the temperature can vary
seasonally.
Which of these cities is located in
an arid climate zone?
Lhasa, China
Notice that over much of the year, Lhasa
receives very little precipitation.
Lhasa, China
Dividing the climate zones
• What geographic feature do you think
helps create these vastly different climate
zones in Asia?
What do we have here?
Writing Assignment
You have lived in both a tropical monsoon
climate and an arid climate. Write a first
person account comparing and contrasting
your life in both places. Your account
should be at least 6-8 sentences for each
climate.