Make a comparative study of the PPT between the tropical monsoon and cool temperate western maritime types of climate.

2a)

PPT between the Tropical Monsoon Climates (areas including India) and the Cool Temperate Western Maritime (areas including the United Kingdom) can be very different but also have a few similarities.

A Tropical Monsoon Climate comes from the Arabic word meaning ‘season’. It is a climate where winds play a key part and is applied to the large-scale reversal of wind directions in the various seasons. This climate also has a marked wet season in the summer. The PPT in this climate is an intense one with the majority of the rain falling towards the west coastal regions. The activity of this climate can be split into three seasons. March to May, June to September and October to February. In the march to may season it is very hot and dry. In the June to September season the rain hits and 80% of the annual PPT falls in this time. It is patterns of pulses of very heavy rainfall. Temperatures drop by a few degrees. Finally in the October to February season the wet season ends and there are generally clear skies with mild temperatures.

A Cool Temperate Western Maritime is located in the United Kingdom and 40` - 60` North and south of the equator. In this sort of climate there is slightly more rain in the winter than the summer and it seems to be of light intensity. It is said to be changeable without marked seasonal differences. Both clouds and PPT are common. There are extremities of temperature with it being either very hot or very cold.

The similarities between these two climates are the seasonal and regional variations in the climate. In the tropical monsoon climate seasons are ...

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The similarities between these two climates are the seasonal and regional variations in the climate. In the tropical monsoon climate seasons are either very hot or very wet, with the wet patch in the summer. The Cool Temperate Western Maritime climate seasons are not very clearly defined but there is slightly more PPT and a colder temperature in winter. Both climates also have heavier rain in the mountainous regions.

The differences between the two types of climate are the intensity of the rain and the total amount of annual rainfall. In a Cool Temperate Western Maritime Climate the PPT is rarely heavy and doesn’t last for a long time. However in a Tropical Monsoon Climate the rain is very heavy and interspersed by drier periods. The total PPT in India (tropical monsoon climate) is about 11,00 mm, but in the UK (cool temperate western maritime) is only 1,300 mm.

While the two climates are similar in some respects they also have many differences which make the 2 climates very different.

2b)

Why do variations from the averages in PPT cause problems for people in both MEDCs and LEDCs?

MEDCs tend to be found within the areas of Cool Temperate Western Maritime climate where LEDCs tend to be in the areas of Tropical Monsoon Climate. This variation in the average means 2 things. The first thing it means is that more PPT causes flooding and less PPT usually results in droughts.

Flooding is a major problem everywhere in the world today and can happen in any climate. This has recently happened in both Bangladesh in 1998 and in United Kingdom on the river Severn in 1998. Both killed over 1000 people and washed away homes, crops and animals.

Drought is only a problem in LEDCs and an area that has suffered is the sahel region in Africa. No PPT fell and temperatures were very high.

Variations from the average cause more problems in LEDCs than they do in MEDCs.