Transcript Recent monsoons in India…

Chapter 12: South Asia
Environmental
Geography
South Asia Reference
South Asia
• South Asia is a land of political tensions
–Tensions between India and Pakistan
• Growing population
–South Asia could soon surpass East
Asia in population
• One of the poorest regions on Earth
• Not well-connected to the globalized world
–Slow economic growth and inward
orientation
Environmental Geography: Diverse
Landscapes, from Tropical Islands to
Mountain Rim
• Environmental Issues in South
Asia
• 1984 explosion at Bhopal
fertilizer plant
–Natural Hazards in Bangladesh
• Flooding in the Ganges and
Brahmaputra river deltas
Ganges Delta –
largest
Dhaka flooding 2004
Environmental Issues
• Cyclones (hurricanes) – mostly
Bangladesh
– Delta at sea level
– Clobbered by cyclones
– 60 since 1900
– 1991 – “The Big One” –
• 140,000 dead
• 150 mph wind
20 ft. wave
Factor in poverty cycle
Bangladesh
cyclone
Bangladesh cyclone
damage -1991
Bangladesh cyclone
damage 1991 – rice paddies
Bangladesh cyclone
damage 1991 –back flips off water
buffalo
Bangladesh cyclone
damage
Recent monsoons in India…
• Sept. 2011 – 50 people died in monsoon
related flooding…
• September 2005 • http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4727
763.stm
Environmental issues
–Forests and Deforestation
• Historically, Ganges Valley
and coastal plains of India
deforested for agriculture
• Deforestation (agricultural,
urban, and industrial
expansion, RR)
–Fuel wood shortage (dung)
Environmental Geography: Diverse
Landscapes, from Tropical Islands to
Mountain Rim (cont.)
• Environmental Issues in South Asia (cont.)
–Forests and Deforestation
(cont.)
• Chipko movement – started as
a women’s protest movement
against deforestation and now
has spread throughout many
Himalayan villages
Environmental Issues
–Wildlife: Extinction and
Protection
• Region has managed to
maintain a diverse wildlife
population
–Increasing population
pressure in wildlife habitats
Indian Tiger -200 people
killed/injured in 5 year period
• The Four Subregions of South Asia
– 1) Mountains
of the North
• Collision of Indian Subcontinent
with Eurasian landmass
–200 million years ago
–Himalayan Range and others
–Still moving (plate tectonics) –
1 inch a year
–Earthquake zone
Himalayas
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India, Nepal and Bhutan
1500 miles long
“Home of the Gods”
24 peaks over 25,000 ft.
Mt.Everest (29,028 ft.)
Everest
1953 –Nepal
Sir Edmund Hillary & Tenzing
Norgay climb Everest
South Asia Physical
• The Four Subregions of South Asia (cont.)
– 2) Indus-Ganges-Brahmaputra Lowlands
• Large lowlands created by three major
river systems
–Indus – longest , 1800 miles- cultural
hearth
– Brahmaputra -1700 miles, delta
mostly densely populated in world,
fertile land,
–Ganges – 1500 miles, transportation
system, densely populated,
–Holy river for Hindus
Ganges River
– 3) Peninsular India
• Deccan Plateau
–Makes up most of peninsular India
• Western Ghats, Eastern Ghats (6,000 ft,
to 8,000 ft. high)
– 4) The Southern Islands
• Sri Lanka
• Maldives – chain of more than 1,200
islands,
– 75% uninhabited
–Only 116 square miles total
–6 ft. highest elevation
–Threatened by global warming
Deccan Plateau
• South Asia’s Monsoon Climates
• Monsoon – the distinct seasonal change of
wind direction, which corresponds with wet and
dry periods
– Three South Asian seasons:
» Warm and rainy season from June to October
» Cool and dry season November to February
» Hot period from March to late May (120° F)
• Drier conditions in Pakistan
• Crops depend on Monsoon rains
South Asian Monsoon
Monsoon pictures
Monsoon pictures
Monsoon pictures
Monsoon pictures
Monsoon pictures