Answer:
Characteristics: (a) The low-pressure trough attracts South-east trade winds. They cross the equator and blow in South-westerly direction, entering Indian Peninsula as the South-west monsoons. (b) They blow in two branches - the Arabian Sea branch and the Bay of Bengal branch. They bring abundant moisture to the sub-continent. The velocity of these winds is 30 km per hour. The two branches of South-west monsoons cover the country in a month. (c) Monsoon winds tend to have "breaks" in rainfall. It has wet and dry spells. They are pulsating in nature. The monsoons may cause heavy floods in one part and droughts in another. Effects: (a) Monsoon winds bring total change in the weather conditions. The Arabian Sea branch is obstructed by the Western Ghats. The windward side receives heavy rainfall, more than 250 cm. The Deccan Plateau and parts of Madhya Pradesh receive 70-50 cm of rainfall, cm of lying in the rain-shadow area. As the branch moves from west to east, rainfall decreases. (b) Another part of the Arabian Sea branch strikes Gujarat and Rajasthan causing scanty rainfall. In Punjab and Haryana, it joins the Bay of Bengal branch. These two branches reinforced by each other cause rains in the western Himalayas. (c) The Bay of Bengal branch reaches North-eastern parts and strikes Garo and Khasi hills of Meghalaya. Mawsynram in the southern ranges of the Khasi hills receives highest rainfall in the world. The rainfall in the northern plains decreases from east to west.
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