Page 6 - India Destination Guide - Alluring Asia

CLIMATE Wet: When the monsoon finally arrives, it doesn't' just suddenly appear one day. After a period of advance India is so vast that the climatic conditions in the far warning, the rain comes in steadily, starting round 1 north have little relation to that of the extreme south. June in the extreme south and sweeping north to While the heat is building up to breaking point on cover the whole country by early July. The monsoon the plains, the people of Ladakh will still be waiting doesn't really cool things off; at first you simply trade for the snow to melt on the high passes. Basically the hot, dry, dusty weather for hot, humid, muddy India has three seasons the hot, the wet and the cool. conditions. It doesn't rain solidly all day during the The best time to visit is during the winter (November monsoon, but it certainly rains every day; the water through February), except for the northern tends to come down in buckets for a while and then Himalayan regions where late spring and summer the sun comes out and it's quite pleasant. (April through August) is the best time. Cool: Around October, the monsoon ends, and this is Hot: The heat starts to build up on the northern probably the best time of year in India. Everything is plains of India from around February and by April still green and lush but you don't get rained on daily. or May it becomes unbearable. In central India, The temperatures are delightful, not too hot and not temperatures of 45C and above are commonplace. too cool. The air is clear in the Himalaya, and the Later in May the first signs of the monsoon are seen - mountains are clearly visible, at least early in the day. high humidity, short rainstorms, violent electrical As the cool rolls on, Delhi and other northern cities storms, and dust storms that turn day into night. become quite crisp at night in December and January. The hot season is the time to leave the plains and It becomes downright cold in the far north, but snow retreat to the hills. Kashmir and the Kullu Valley brings India's small skiing industry into action so a come into their own, and the Himalayan hill stations few places, such as the Kullu Valley, have a winter and states such as Sikkim are at their best. season too. Average Temperature & Rainfall Mumbai Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Rainfall(inches) 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.7 1.3 3.1 8.8 6.7 2.3 0.7 0.4 0.1 Min Temp (F) 15 19 31 44 56 65 71 69 58 44 31 19 Max Temp (F) 34 40 52 68 80 87 88 86 79 67 50 38 Agra Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Rainfall(inches) 1.5 2.3 3.2 4.0 4.5 6.8 5.1 5.2 6.1 2.4 2. 0 1.4 Min Temp (F) 32 34 41 51 60 68 76 76 68 58 47 36 Max Temp (F) 45 47 54 65 74 81 90 90 81 72 62 51 Jaipur ND Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Rainfall(inches) 5.5 12.8 6.8 13.4 15 62.5 156.4 198.8 71.7 35.5 6.7 10.2 Min Temp (F) 48 54 63 73 81 82 79 77 75 68 58 50 Max Temp (F) 74 79 90 100 106 104 95 92 94 94 86 78 Cochin Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Rainfall(inches) 1.2 1.9 3.3 6.3 11.8 15.5 14.4 14.4 10.7 4.3 1.4 1.0 Min Temp (F) 57 57 63 68 75 81 81 79 79 73 66 59 Max Temp (F) 66 66 70 77 84 86 90 88 86 82 75 70