Editing Geography of India (section)

== Climate ==
[[File:Koppen-Geiger Map IND present.svg|thumb|370x370px|India's [[Köppen climate classification]] map<ref name="Peel">{{cite journal | author=Peel, M. C. and Finlayson, B. L. and McMahon, T. A. | year=2007 | title= Updated world map of the Köppen–Geiger climate classification | journal=Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. | volume=11 | issue=5 | pages=1633–1644 |doi=10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007 | bibcode=2007HESS...11.1633P | url=http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/11/1633/2007/hess-11-1633-2007.html | issn = 1027-5606| doi-access=free }} ''(direct: [http://www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/11/1633/2007/hess-11-1633-2007.pdf Final Revised Paper])''</ref> is based on temperature, precipitation and their seasonality.]]
{{Main|Climate of India|Climatic regions of India}}

Based on the [[Köppen climate classification|Köppen system]], India hosts six major climatic subtypes, ranging from arid desert in the west, [[alpine tundra]] and glaciers in the north, and humid tropical regions supporting rainforests in the southwest and the island territories. The nation has four seasons: winter (January–February), summer (March–May), a monsoon (rainy) season (June–September) and a post-monsoon period (October–December).<ref name="manorama4" />

The Himalayas act as a barrier to the frigid [[katabatic wind]]s flowing down from Central Asia. Thus, northern India is kept warm or only mildly cooled during winter; in summer, the same phenomenon makes India relatively hot. Although the [[Tropic of Cancer]]—the boundary between the tropics and subtropics—passes through the middle of India, the whole country is considered to be tropical.<ref>{{cite book|title=Climate Change: Myths and Realities|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y_GMTXRtxJ8C&pg=PA65|publisher=Jeevananda Reddy|page=65|id=GGKEY:WDFHBL1XHK3}}</ref>

Summer lasts between March and June in most parts of India. Temperatures can exceed {{convert|40|°C|°F}} during the day. The coastal regions exceed {{convert|30|°C|°F}} coupled with high levels of [[humidity]]. In the Thar desert area temperatures can exceed {{convert|45|°C|°F}}. The rain-bearing [[monsoon]] clouds are attracted to the low-pressure system created by the Thar Desert. The southwest monsoon splits into two arms, the Bay of Bengal arm and the Arabian Sea arm. The Bay of Bengal arm moves northwards crossing northeast India in early June. The Arabian Sea arm moves northwards and deposits much of its rain on the windward side of Western Ghats. Winters in peninsula India see mild to warm days and cool nights. Further north the temperature is cooler. Temperatures in some parts of the Indian plains sometimes fall below freezing. Most of northern India is plagued by fog during this season. The highest temperature recorded in India was {{convert|51|°C|°F|abbr=on}} in Phalodi, Rajasthan.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/india-sets-new-heat/2802184.html|title=India sets new heat record as temperatures soar|website=Channel NewsAsia|access-date=2016-05-20|archive-date=21 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160521162220/http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/india-sets-new-heat/2802184.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> And the lowest was {{convert|-60|°C|°F|abbr=on}} in Dras, Jammu and Kashmir.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Binayak|first=Poonam|title=Dras: The World's Second Coldest Inhabited Place|url=https://theculturetrip.com/asia/india/articles/dras-the-worlds-second-coldest-inhabited-place/|access-date=2020-11-23|website=Culture Trip|date=30 August 2017|archive-date=18 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210118072154/https://theculturetrip.com/asia/india/articles/dras-the-worlds-second-coldest-inhabited-place/|url-status=live}}</ref>