More rains in Western ghats of Karnataka- reasons explained
More rains in Western ghats of Karnataka- reasons explained
Question:-Why Western Ghats in Karnataka receive more monsoon rainfall ?
- The Western Ghats go parallel to the Arabian Sea coast for almost 1,600 km starting from the Maharashtra-Gujarat border right up til the southern tip of Kerala.
- An observation based on the remotely sensed satellite data and field data from the Indian Meteorological Department of the Western Ghats region shows that during the average rainfall during the monsoon months of June, July, August, September, was more over Karnataka compared to Maharashtra and Kerala.
- Reasons for this are mentioned in brief below-
1. The mountain topography of the ghats in Maharashtra is narrower than that of Karnataka which is much broader due to which the rain bearing winds travel a longer distance with more time for drops to blend and precipitate as rainfall, resulting in higher rainfall.
2. On the other hand, the narrowness of the Ghats in Maharashtra allows the rain-bearing wind to cross over to the leeward side rapidly prior to the occurrence of precipitation. While in Kerala, the Ghats form isolated mountains where the gaps allow the rain-bearing winds to cross over on the leeward side without precipitation occurring.
3. The probability of precipitation is directly concerned with the mountain slope. This is the result of the Ghats of Karnataka, the mountains of which are gently sloping, compared to the steep slopes of the Ghats in Maharashtra and Kerala.
4. The precipitation that is formed with the growth of cloud droplets by collision-coalescence is helped by the air parcel that retains its energy and speed longer when the slope is gradual.
5. The gentle slope supplies a larger area for sunlight absorption and heating which leads to greater convection as compared to an abrupt slope like that of the Maharashtra and Kerala Ghats.
6. The continuous mountain range compared to isolated mountains with gaps makes a difference in the amount of rainfall.
