Climate in India
Extras
When people think of India, they might think of a place that is extremely hot, and for the most part, they are right, but India’s climate, like its geography, is varied. The northern parts of India can be very cold because they lie in the Himalayan mountains. Temperatures in Srinagar, a northern town, can reach lows of -2.5 degrees Celsius; however, this town might not be on the typical traveller’s bucket list. Further south along the coast, in the middle parts of India, you’ll find the city of Mumbai, where the weather is drier and more arid. Mumbai’s year-round average temperature sits at a cosy 30 degrees Celsius, so remember to pack shorts.
India’s geography is extremely varied and because of this, it is a marvel to travel. In the one country, you can see deserts, ice-capped mountains, lush jungles and tropical beaches. Not to mention rolling cities as far as the eye can see.
India is in South Asia. The country lies entirely on the Indian Plate in the northern portion of the Indo-Australian Plate. The country lies to the north of the equator between 8°4' and 37°6' north latitude and 68°7' and 97°25' east longitude. It is the seventh-largest country in the world, with a total land area of 3,287,263 square kilometres. India measures 3,214 km from north to south and 2,993 km from east to west. It has a coastline of 7,517 km.
India is bounded to the southwest by the Arabian Sea, to the southeast by the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean to the south. Cape Comorin constitutes the southern tip of the Indian peninsula, which narrows before ending in the Indian Ocean. The southernmost part of India is Indira Point in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The Maldives, Sri Lanka and Indonesia are island nations to the south of India with Sri Lanka separated from India by a narrow channel of sea formed by Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar. The territorial waters of India extend into the sea to a distance of twelve nautical miles (22 km) measured from the appropriate baseline.
The northern frontiers of India are defined largely by the Himalayan Mountain range where its political boundaries with China, Bhutan, and Nepal lie. Its western borders with Pakistan lie in the Punjab Plain and the Thar desert. In the far northeast, the Chin Hills and Kachin Hills, deeply forested mountainous regions, separate India from Burma while its political border with Bangladesh is defined by the watershed region of the Indo-Gangetic Plain, the Khasi hills and Mizo Hills.
Officially, India's highest point is K2 at 8,611 m, though this is in the Pakistani-administered Kashmir, a disputed region. Kanchenjunga in Sikkim at 8,598m is the second-highest point in India and the third highest in the world. Climate across India ranges from equatorial in the far south, to Alpine in the upper reaches of the Himalayas.
The Ganges is the longest river in India and forms the Indo-Gangetic Plain. The Ganges-Brahmaputra system occupies most of northern, central and eastern India, while the Deccan Plateau occupies most of southern India. Along with its western frontier is the Thar Desert, which is the seventh largest desert in the world.
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