The Climate Seasons And Geographical Condition's Of Maharashtra

Geographical Conditions:

The geographical limits of the Marathi-speaking regions, broadly speaking, are: Goa and Daman on the western coast and Bhandara in the eastern sector, a little beyond Nagpur. The triangle thus formed has remained the traditional home of Marathi-speakers, although, for administrative purposes, more distinct divisions were made. The triangle of Maharashtra is divided into clear-cut natural regions. The great divide, running north-south, the Western Ghat also known as the Sahyadri range, being older than then grand, snow-clad Himalayas, plays a significant role in imparting to the land and to its people the characteristics which single them out from the rest, physically and in their mental make-up. The narrow strip between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats, is Konkan, with its sparse population, poor soil and heavy rainfall. Open to the onslaught from the seashore, the land has faced many an invasion, commercial, military and peaceful at different times in history.

The dominant feature of Maharashtra is its association with the north-south mountain range which stands between the Desh and the Konkan which are the natural divisions of the State; Konkan being the narrow strip between the sea and the Sahyadri range and Desh lying to the east of the hills, extending into the Peninsular Deccan. Desh in its turn is divided by the intervening hills and the rivers. Off-shoots of this north-south range run eastwards and they too play a similar role in the life of the people of that region. The domination of the hills is seen in two ways; in the physical makeup of the people and in their spirit. Rivers and streams flow from the side of the hills and they make these fields fertile on their way to their ultimate destination, the sea. The westward flowing streams are necessarily short, because their span runs over a narrow strip between the coast and the hills. But they are swift because of the sharp drop in the height and when they pour them- selves into the sea, they naturally form a shallow, broad basin at the mouth. The Vaitarna, the Ulhas, the Savitri and the Vasishti are the more important of these rivers.

Rivers that rise in the Western Ghats but flow eastward are longer and therefore far more useful to the country and the people on their banks; they are the Krishna and the Godavari, with their tributaries. The Krishna rises at Mahabaleshwar and the Godavari at Tryambakeshwar (near Nashik). The Western Ghats cover all the three sections of the Sahyadri-northern, central and southern. The Sahyadri is composed of at least two different types of rocks of varying hardness on the basis of which the range can be divided into two sections. The northern 640 km of the Sahyadri is built of horizontal sheets of lave. These have given rise to the typical Deccan trap landscape. Viewed from the east, the range seems cut up into terraces, but from the western coastal plain, it looks like a sheet wall.

The crest line runs in broad curves, carved by the head waters of the Godavari and the Bhima rivers, respectively, and two easterly bulges marked by the Harishchandragad (1,424 m) and Mahabaleshwar peaks (1,4368 ni). Two other peaks rise higher - Kalsubai (1,646 m), near lgatpuri, and Salher (1,567 m), 90 km to the north of Nashik. Thalghat and Bhorghat are the important passes through which roads and railways run between the Deccan Plateau and the Konkan plains from Mumbai to Nashik and Pune respectively. But the line of communication through the Ghats had been maintained by man and animal and there are many passages through the hills (ghats). There are about twenty such passages across, and the Amba, Amboli, Fonda, Kumbharli are some of the well-known Ghats. Maharashtra has an area of 307,713 sq. km, which is a little more than a tenth of that of the nation. The Arabian Sea guards the western boundary of the State while Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh are its neighbours on the northern side. On the eastern boundary, Madhya Pradesh closely keeps a watch, while Mysore and Andhra Pradesh take care of the south.

Seasons:

The seasons in Maharashtra are typically monsoonal in character, with ’hot’, 'rainy' and 'cold weather’ seasons. The months of March, April and May are the months of maximum heat. The Konkan as well as the Plateau wears a parched appearance under intense heat and dry winds. During this season, especially in April and May, thunderstorms are a common feature all over the State. Usually, the first week of June is the time for the onset of the south-west monsoon; and this is preceded by days of very sultry weather, thundershowers and heavy gusts of wind. July is the wettest month, followed by August. In September, the skies become clearer and showers are less frequent. October marks the transition from the rainy season to winter. From November to the end of February, there is a cool dry spell, with clear skies, gentle breezes and in general, a pleasant weather.

Climate:

The temperature varies tremendously over the various parts of the State. In the Konkan area, the maritime influences are clearer. The range between summer temperature (30°C) and ‘cold weather’ (24°C) is low. Humidity is uniformly high. Rainfall is concentrated in the south-west monsoonal season, the other months being mainly dry. In the Ghat regions, temperatures are lower due to height, ranging between 24°C in April and 18.7°C in January. Throughout this region, the cold weather is pleasant, occasionally chill but on the whole bracing in the hill stations. Except in the hill stations, hot weather conditions are unpleasant due to forest humidity and dried-up watercourses. Maharashtra plateau has a dry climate.

Summer afternoon temperatures run up to 38°C, while the early morning temperatures of the winter season are of the order 12-13°C. Rainfall is scanty and precarious. The Tapi valley climate is transitional between the climate of the coastal plains and that of the plateau interior. Summers are very hot and winters appreciably cold. The annual range in temperature is as high as 14-15°C. In the Western Vidarbha region, and in the Briars, the climate is characterised by hot summers and cool winters. Rainfall is moderate and well distributed. In the Eastern Vidarbha region, notably the districts of Bhandara and Chanda, the climate is more prone to influences from the Bay of Bengal. The summers are hot and the winters cool. Humidity is generally high. Copious rainfall and larger number of rainy days have promoted the best forest cover in Maharashtra and an agricultural economy dominated by rice.