Lesson video

Hello and welcome.

My name is Ms. Harrison.

I'm so excited to be landing with you today.

Today's lesson is called "The Climate of India." Grab everything you might need for today's lesson and let's begin our learning.

By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to use climate graphs to investigate what India's climate is like and how it varies from place to place.

Before we can begin this learning, we need to find the keywords that we'll be using throughout today's lesson.

The keywords in today's lesson are climate, temperature, latitude, altitude, and landscape.

Climate.

This is an average of weather conditions.

For example, rain, sun, or wind, in a place taking over really long period of time, usually 30 years or more.

Temperature.

This is the degree of hotness or coldness of a place.

Latitude.

This is the imaginary lines on Earth showing position north or south of the Equator, measured in degrees.

Altitude.

This is the height above sea level or ground level.

Landscape.

This is an area and its landforms and features that can be seen when viewed from another place.

Now that we've defined these keywords, we can begin our learning.

First question we are going to explore in today's lesson is what is India's climate like? In this lesson, we are going to be investigating India's climate.

I wonder, do you know anything about India's climate? And looking at India's location, what do you think the climate will be like? Pause the video here whilst you have a think, and press play when you're ready to continue.

Well done.

Let's share our answers.

Lucas said, "Climate is the average weather conditions for a given place.

Climate varies around the world." Aisha said, "I read that the temperature in some parts of India can reach over 50 degrees." Sam said, "I think India will have a warmer climate than the UK because it is closer to the Equator." Well done if you managed to think of any of these answers.

True or false? The climate of a place describes the day-to-day conditions of the atmosphere.

Pause the video here whilst you decide if this statement is true or false, and press play when you're ready to continue.

Well done.

This statement is false.

I would now like you to explain why this statement is false.

Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to continue.

Brilliant.

The reason why this statement is false is because climate is an average of weather conditions in a place over a long period of time, usually 30 years or more, weather of a place describes the day-to-day conditions of the atmosphere.

Well done if you managed to explain that correctly.

India is a huge country and most of it has something called a tropical monsoon climate.

But what does that mean? India's climate can be divided into three main seasons.

These seasons are different from what we experience here in the UK.

Let's take a closer look at each one.

First, we have summer, which lasts from February to May.

During this time, it's really hot and dry, and temperatures can go up to 40 degrees or even higher, especially in places like Rajasthan, the air can feel dry and there's not much rain at all.

People usually stay indoors to avoid the heat and they drink lots of water to stay cool.

Then comes the monsoon season from June to September.

This is when the rain comes pouring down and it gets much wetter.

The monsoon brings a lot of rain to India, sometimes for days in a row, while it's a bit muddy and wet.

The rain is really important because it helps water and crops.

Then comes the monsoon season from June to September.

This is when the rain comes pouring down and it gets much wetter.

The monsoon brings a lot of rain to India, sometimes for days in a row, whilst it's a bit muddy and wet.

The rain is really important because it helps towards the crops and refreshes the land after a really hot summer.

It's a welcome change for many, but it can cause floods in some areas too.

Finally, we have winter, which lasts from October to January.

Winter in India is very dry and much colder than summer.

Temperatures can drop around 10 degrees in many places, especially in the northern parts.

It's not freezing cold like winter in some other countries, but it's definitely a relief from the intense heat of summer.

Isn't it interesting the different climate is in India compared to what we have here in the UK? Weather affects everything from what people wear to what they do and where they work.

Now, when we think of the word monsoon, we might picture heavy rain and storms, but it's actually much more than that.

A monsoon is a wind pattern that causes a big change in rainfall.

The wind pattern shifts during the year, bringing wet weather at certain times and dry weather at others.

In India, the monsoon season is when a lot of the rainfall happens.

It's a crucial part of the year.

This is when the winds change direction and bring heavy rain across most of the country, especially from June to September.

In fact, these rains are so important for farmers because they help water crops and feed millions of people.

But did you know that one place in India gets unbelievable amounts of rain? It's called Cherrapunjee and it's located in northeast India.

This town is actually one of the wettest places on Earth.

Every year, it gets around 12 metres of rain.

That's more than 14 times the amount of rain Manchester gets in an entire year.

Imagine living in a place where it rains that much.

It's not just a drizzle here and there.

It's nonstop rain for months.

This kind of rainfall helps the environment stay lush and green, but it also causes challenges like floods and landslides.

So you can see why monsoon is so important to India.

It's not just about the weather.

It affects everything from farming to the way people live and they work.

Most parts of India experience warm temperatures all year round.

The average annual temperature in India is around 27.

4 degrees Celsius.

Aisha has said, "The average annual temperature in the UK is around 10 degrees Celsius." There is a big difference between India's temperature and the UK.

In some parts of India, the temperature can get extremely hot, especially during certain times of the year.

In fact, it's not unusual for temperatures to rise above 45 degrees in some areas.

One of the hottest cities in India is New Delhi, the capital of India.

New Delhi can get sweltering hot, particularly during summer months.

Temperatures have been known to soar above 50 degrees.

That's incredibly hot and it's even harder to imagine how hot that feels.

To put it into perspective, that's hotter than some ovens.

This intense heat happens because New Delhi is in the northern part of the country, far from the cooling effect of the sea, and it's in an area that experiences very dry weather during summer months.

So the combination of intense sunshine and dry conditions leads to these record-breaking temperatures.

During these hot periods, people in New Delhi and other areas use fans, air conditioning and try to stay indoors to stay cool.

But imagine how tough would be to work or play outside in that kind of heat.

What is the average annual temperature in India? Is it a, approximately 27.

4 degrees Celsius, b, approximately 37.

4 degrees Celsius, or c, approximately 47.

4 degrees Celsius.

Pause the video here whilst you attempt this task and press play when you're ready to continue.

Brilliant.

The average annual temperature in India is, a, approximately 27.

4 degrees Celsius.

Well done if you managed to get that correct.

We can use climate graphs to investigate the climate in India.

When we're looking at graphs, we're probably thinking what is a climate graph, and what data does it show? Climate graph shows how rainfall and temperature changed during the year in a particular location.

The line on the graph shows the average temperature and the bars show the average rainfall.

Climate graphs show, a, the temperature and wind speed of a place, b, the average temperature and rainfall of a place, or c, the temperature and rainfall of a place for next year.

Pause the video here whilst you attempt this task and press play when you're ready to check your answers.

Excellent.

Climate graphs show, b, the average temperature and rainfall of a place.

Well done if you managed to identify that correctly.

To read the temperature on a climate graph, we look at, a, bars, b, line, c, x-axis label.

Pause the video here whilst you identify how we would read temperature on a climate graph and press play when you're ready to continue.

Well done.

The answer is b, a line.

Well done if you manage that task.

This climate graph is from Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala, a states in southwest of India.

I would like you to think of the following questions.

Which months are the hottest? And which months are the wettest? Pause the video here whilst you have a think and press play when you're ready to continue.

Well done.

In Thiruvananthapuram, the temperature is really, really hot all year round, but it seems that from March to May are the hottest months.

The months that are the wettest are July and October.

Well done if you managed to identify those correctly.

This climate graph is from Jaisalmer, a city in the Thar Desert in northwest India.

I would now like you to think, which months are the hottest here? And which ones are the driest here? Pause the video here whilst you have a think and press play when you're ready to continue.

Well done.

The months that are the hottest here are from April all the way to June.

And the month are the driest on November, December, and March.

Well done if you managed to identify those.

This climate graph is from Leh, the capital of Ladakh, a region in the north India.

I would like you to think about the following.

Which months are the coldest? And which months are the driest? Pause the video here whilst you have a think and press play to continue.

Well done.

The months that are the coldest are from October all the way up until May.

And the months that are the driest are from October to December.

Well done if you manage to identify those correctly.

Which of these places has almost no rainfall for much of the year? Pause the video here whilst you take a closer look at those climate graphs, and press play when you're ready to check your answer.

Fantastic.

The answer is b.

Well done if you managed to identify that correctly.

I would now like you to read through the descriptions of the locations in India.

I want you to match each description with one of the climate graphs.

Pause the video here whilst you read each of the statements and then take a closer look at the climate graphs to pair them up correctly.

Press play when you're ready to continue.

Excellent.

Well done on this task.

Let's check our answers.

Your answers should match up like this.

For Thiruvananthapuram, your answer should be, warm temperatures all year round with large amounts of rain, particularly in June, October, and November.

For Jaisalmer, it will be, temperatures can get very hot, particularly from May to July.

Almost no rainfall for much of the year.

And from Leh, it should be temperatures reach below freezing for much of the year.

Wettest months are July and August.

Well done on this task, you've done brilliantly.

I would now like you to think how does this data compare with climate graphs from the UK? Pause the video here whilst you have a think and press play when you're ready to continue.

Excellent.

We have four seasons.

We have autumn, winter, spring, and summer.

And each of these seasons will contain quite a bit of rainfall, but our temperatures will change from our winter, spring, summer, and autumn.

Well done.

We're now going to explore our final question of today's lesson.

How does India's climate vary? Different factors affect what the climate is like.

Lucas has said, "I think that places closer to the Equator are warmer than places further away." Aisha has said, "How high a place is affects the climate.

It's colder at the top of the mountain than at the bottom." And Sam said, "Being near the coast can also affect what the climate of a place is like." Earth is divided into climate zones.

And these are regions of similar climates.

Can you name any of these climate zones? Well done.

The map on your screen shows the world climate zones.

I've labelled where India is.

You'll be able to notice that in India we can see an equatorial climate zone, a tropical climate zone, and a desert climate zone.

Latitude affects what the climate of place is like.

India's large size means that it spans many lines of latitude, like you can see on the image on your screen.

Let's talk about how the sun's rays affect the climate around the world.

This is something really important that helps us explain why some places are hot and others are cold.

So think about the Earth as a big ball with the Equator in the middle.

The Equator is an imaginary line that divides the Earth into two halves, the northern hemisphere and the southern hemisphere.

The sun shines on the Earth, but it doesn't shine evenly everywhere.

At the poles, the very top and the very bottom of the Earth, the sun's raised spread out over a large area because the rays are spread out, the heat is less concentrated, which means the temperatures are lower, so it's cold at the poles right.

Now, if you move towards the Equator, things change.

The sun's rays are more concentrated there 'cause the rays hit the Earth directly, so the heat is much stronger.

That's why the Equator and air is near it are much hotter.

This is why we find the warmest climates around the Equator and places like tropical rainforests are found here.

So in simple terms, the further you go from the Equator, the more spread out the sun's rays become, the cooler the temperature gets.

Near the poles, the rays that spread over a larger area leading to cold temperatures.

Near the Equator, the rays are more concentrated, making it warmer.

This difference in how the ray hits the Earth helps shape the different climate around the world from freezing colder the poles to hot and tropical near the Equator.

True or false? All of India lies in the equatorial climate zone.

Pause the video here whilst you attempt this task and press play when you're ready to continue.

Excellent.

This statement is false.

I would now like you to explain why the statement is false.

Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to continue.

Excellent.

The reason why this statement is false is because, although parts of India are located in equatorial climate zones, the country's large size means that it spans several different climate zones.

Well done if you managed to explain that correctly.

Did you know that the higher you go, the cooler it gets? This is because the air gets thinner as you go up and it can't hold as much heat that every 100 metres you climb, the temper drops about one degree.

So if you are hiking up a mountain, you'll notice that it gets cooler and colder the higher up you go.

This is the reason why the Himalayan mountains, which are some of the tallest mountains in the world, are covered in snow at the top.

Even though the weather might be warm at the bottom of the mountain, at the very top, it's freezing cold because the height causes the temperature to drop significantly.

So in a nutshell, higher land equals cooler temperatures and more rainfall.

That's why mountaintops like the Himalayas, often stay covered in snow, even when the weather down below is much warmer.

In places like India, mountain ranges and the distance from the sea play a role in shaping the weather.

Mountain ranges such as the Himalayas and the Western Ghats can actually change the way the wind and rainfall move across the country.

When the wind hits these mountains, they have to rise up over them.

As the air rises, it cools down and causes rain.

That's why the windward side of mountain range where the wind hits tends to get more rainfall, while the other side, called the leeward side can be much drier.

Now, let's talk about the sea.

India has a very long coastline, which means the sea has a big influence on the climate.

Areas that are close to the sea often have cooler, wetter climates compared to places that are further inland.

The sea acts like a giant air conditioner.

It keeps the temperature moderate, meaning it doesn't get too hot in the summer or too cold in the winter.

It brings moisture into the air, which can lead to more rainfall.

So to sum it up, mountain ranges like the Himalayas can change wind and rainfall patterns, creating wetter conditions on one side and dry conditions on the other.

And places near the sea tend to have more moderate, cooler, and wetter climate than those further away.

What happens to temperature as altitude increases? a, as altitude increases temperature decreases, b, as altitude increases, temperature increases, c, as altitude increases, temperature stays constant.

Pause the video here whilst you attempt this task and press play when you're ready to check your answers.

Excellent.

The answer is a.

As altitude increases, temperature decreases.

Well done if you manage to identify that correctly.

India's large size and diverse landscape means that climate varies across the country.

Let's take a look at how different places in India have such varied climates, all depending on where they're located.

First, we have Leh, which is the northern part of India, high up in the mountains because it's so far from the sea and at the very high altitude.

Leh has colder climates.

During the winter months, the temperature here can drop well below freezing, so it gets really, really cold.

Even though, it's sunny during the day, it can feel extremely chilly at night.

Now, let's head to Jaisalmer.

Located in the Thar Desert in the northwest of India.

As you can imagine, it has an arid or dry climate.

It gets very little rainfall and the temperature can be extremely hot during the day, but since the desert temperature drops sharply at night, so it can get quite cold after the sunset, it's a place with big temperature swings.

Finally, let's move all the way down to Thiruvananthapuram, which is located on the southwestern coast of India.

This area is warm and humid all year round because it's close to the sea.

The sea helps keep the temperature moderate, but also brings moisture, making it feel quite humid, so it's warm and tropical with plenty of rain and lush greenery.

So we can see that India's climate can change drastically depending on whether you are in the mountains, a desert, or near the coast.

I would like you to explain why India has varied climate.

Try to include these words in your answer.

Climate zone, latitude, altitude, and landscape.

Pause the video here whilst to attempt this task and press play when you're ready to continue.

Well done on attempting this task.

Let's check our answers.

Your answer could include the following points.

"Earth is divided into climate zones.

These are regions with similar climates.

Latitude affects what the climate is like.

India's large size means that it spans several climate zones and lines of latitude.

Altitude also affects the climate.

Higher land is cooler and wetter.

Some places in India are much higher than others.

India's varied landscape also affects what the climate is like in the different places.

For example, mountains can affect wind and rainfall patterns.

Distance from the sea is also important." Well done if you managed to include those points in your answer, you've done brilliantly.

Aisha has said, "Perhaps you can investigate what the climate is like in other places in India and compare them." That sounds like a great idea.

We've now come to the end of our learning in today's lesson, "The Climate of India." You've done brilliantly.

But before we end this lesson, let's summarise everything we've learned today.

Most of India has a tropical monsoon climate and has three seasons.

Cherrapunjee in India is the wettest place on Earth, it receives 12 metres of rain in a year.

The average annual temperature in India is around 27.

4 degrees Celsius.

The highest recorded temperature was in Delhi in '24 and it was 53.

2 degrees Celsius.

India has a varied climate because of its large size and diverse landscape.

Well done.

You've done brilliantly, and I look forward to learning with you again very soon.