ZONES

1. Tropical wet humid climate group
Dry climate group
Sub-tropical humid climate group

2. •The regions belonging to this group experience persistent high
temperatures which normally do not go below 18°C even in the
coolest month.
Tropical wet (humid) or monsoon
type climate
•The west coastal lowlands, the Western Ghats, and southern
parts of Assam have this climate type.

3. •It is characterize by high temperatures throughout the year, even in the
hills. The rainfall here is seasonal, but heavy and is above 78 cm in a year.
•Most of the rain is received in the period from May to November, and is
adequate for the growth of vegetation during the entire year.

4. •December to March are the dry months with very little rainfall.
•The heavy rain is responsible for the tropical wet forests in these
regions, which consists of a large number of species of animals.
•Evergreen forests are the typical feature of the region.

6. Tropical wet and dry or savannah climate
•Most of the plateau of peninsular India enjoys this climate, except a semi-arid
tract to the east of the Western Ghats.
•
•Winter and early summer are long dry periods with temperature above
18°C.
•Summer is very hot and the temperatures in the interior low level areas can
go above 45°C during May.

7. Only central eastern Tamil Nadu falls under this tract and receives rainfall
during the winter months of late November to January
•The rainy season is from June to September and the annual rainfall is
between 75 and 150 cm.

8. Dry climate group
•This group consists of regions where the rate of evaporation of water is
higher than the rate of moisture received through precipitation.

9. •A long stretch of land situated to the south of Tropic of Cancer and east of
the western Ghats and the Cardamom Hills experiences this climate.
• It includes Karnataka, interior and western Tamil Nadu, western Andhra
Pradesh and central Maharashtra.
Tropical semi-arid (steppe) climate

10. •This area receives minimal rainfall due to being situated in the rain shadow
area.
•This region is a famine prone zone with very unreliable rainfall which varies
between 40 to 75 cm annually.
•Towards the north of Krishna River the summer monsoon is
responsible for most of the rainfall, while to the south of the river
rainfall also occurs in the months of October and November.

11. •The coldest month is December but even in this month the temperature
remains between 20°C and 24°C.
•The months of March to May are hot and dry with mean
monthly temperatures of around 32°C.

12. •The vegetation mostly comprises grasses with a few scattered trees due to
the rainfall.
•Hence this area is not very well suited for permanent agriculture.

13. •Most of western Rajasthan falls under this climate
type characterized by scanty rainfall.
• Cloud bursts are largely responsible for the all
the rainfall seen in this region which is less than
30 cm.
Sub-tropical arid (desert) climate
•These happen when the monsoon winds penetrate this region in the months
of July, August and September.

14. •The rainfall is very erratic and a few regions might not see rainfall for a
couple of years.
•The summer months of May and June are very hot with mean monthly
temperatures in the region of 35°C and highs which can sometimes reach
50°C.
•During winters the temperatures can drop below freezing in some areas due
to cold wave.

15. •There is a large diurnal range of about 14°C during summer which
becomes higher by a few more degrees during winter.
•This extreme climate makes this a sparsely populated region of India.
•The region towards the east of the tropical desert running from Punjab
and Haryana to Kathiawar experiences this climate type.

16. Sub-tropical semi-arid (steppe) climate
• This climate is a transitional climate falling between tropical desert and
humid sub-tropical, with temperatures which are less extreme than the desert
climate.
• The annual rainfall is between 30 to 65 cm but is very unreliable and
happens mostly during the summer monsoon season. Maximum temperatures
during summer can rise to 40°C.

17. •The vegetation mostly comprises short coarse grass. Some crops
like jowar and bajra are also cultivated.

18. Sub-tropical humid climate group
•The temperature during the coldest months in regions experiencing this
climate falls between 18 and 0°C.
Sub-tropical humid (wet) with dry winters
•The foothills of the Himalayas, Punjab-Haryana plain adjacent to the
Himalayas, Rajasthan east of the Aravalli range, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and
northern part of West Bengal and Assam experience this climate.

19. •The rainfall is received mostly in the summer and is about 65 cm in the
west and increases to 250 cm annually to the east and near the Himalayas.
•The winters are mainly dry due to the land derived winter winds which
blow down the lowlands of north India towards the Bay of Bengal.

20. • The summers are hot and temperatures can reach 46°C in the lowlands.
May and June are the hottest months.
• Winter months are mostly dry with feeble winds. Frost occurs for a few
weeks in winter.
•The difference in rainfall between the east and the west gives rise to a wide
difference in the natural vegetation.

21. Mountain climate or highland climate or
alpine climate
•In the Himalayan mountains the temperature falls by 0.6°C for every
100 m rise in altitude and this gives rise to a variety of climates from nearly
tropical in the foothills to tundra type above the snow line.
•One can also observe sharp contrast between temperatures of the sunny and
shady slopes, high diurnal range of temperature, inversion of temperature,
and variability of rainfall based on altitude.

23. •The northern side of the western Himalayas also known as the trans-
Himalayan belt is arid, cold and generally wind swept.
•The vegetation is sparse and stunted as rainfall is scanty and the winters are
severely cold.
• Most of the snowfall is in the form of snow during late winter and spring
months.

24. •The area to the south of the Himalayan range is protected from cold winds
coming from interior of Asia during winter.
• The leeward side of the mountains receive less rain while the well exposed
slopes get heavy rainfall.
•The places situated between 1070 and 2290 m altitudes receive the heaviest
rainfall and the rainfall decreases rapidly above 2290m.

25. •The great Himalayan range witnesses heavy snowfall during winter months
of December to February at altitudes above 1500m.
•The diurnal range of temperature is also high.
•The states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh,
Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, and Sikkim experience this kind
of weather.

26. •The design criteria should therefore aim at resisting heat gain by providing
shading, reducing exposed area, controlling and scheduling ventilation, and
increasing thermal capacity.
•The presence of “water bodies” is desirable as they can help increase the
humidity, thereby leading to lower air temperatures.

27. •The ground and surrounding objects emit a lot of heat in the afternoons
and evenings.
•As far as possible, this heat should be avoided by appropriate design
features.

29.  Massive structure
 Air locks, lobbies, balconies, and verandahs
 Weather stripping and scheduling air changes
External surfaces protected by overhangs,
fins, and trees
 Pale colors and glazed china mosaic tiles
 Cooling Windows and exhausts.
Some of the design features for buildings in this
climate are:
 Appropriate orientation and shape of building
 Insulation of building envelope

31. Courtyards, wind towers, and arrangement
of openings.

32. •The warm and humid zone covers the coastal parts of the country, such as
Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata.
•The main design criteria in the warm and humid region are to reduce heat
gain by providing shading, and promote heat loss by maximizing cross
ventilation. Dissipation of humidity is also essential to reduce discomfort.
Warm and humid

33. Some of the design features for buildings in this
climate are:
 Appropriate orientation and shape of building
Roof insulation and wall insulation
 Reflective surface of roof
 Balconies and verandahs
Walls glass surface protected by overhangs,
fins, and trees.
• Pale colors and glazed china mosaic tiles
 Windows and exhausts
Ventilated roof construction, courtyards,
wind towers, and arrangement of openings
 Dehumidifiers and desiccant cooling

37. Moderate
•Pune and Bangalore are examples of cities that fall under this climatic zone.
•The design criteria in the moderate zone are to reduce heat gain by
providing shading, and to promote heat loss by ventilation.
Some of the design features for buildings in this
climate are:
 Appropriate orientation and shape of building
 Roof insulation and east and west wall insulation

38. Walls facing east and west, glass surface
protected by overhangs, fins, and trees.
Pale colors and glazed china mosaic tiles
Windows and exhausts
 Courtyards and arrangement of openings

39. Cold
•Generally, the northern part of India experiences this type of climate.
• The design criteria are to resist heat loss by insulation and controlling
infiltration.
•Simultaneously, heat gain needs to be promoted by admitting and trapping
solar radiation within the living space.

40. Some of the design features for buildings in this
climate are:
 Appropriate orientation and shape of building
 Use of trees as wind barriers
 Roof insulation, wall insulation, and double glazing
 Thicker walls
 Air locks and lobbies
 Weather stripping
 Darker colours
 Sun spaces, greenhouses and thrombi walls

42. 
Composite
•The composite zone covers the central part of India, such as New Delhi,
Kanpur and Allahabad.
•The design criteria are more or less the same as for hot and dry climate
except that maximizing cross ventilation is desirable in the monsoon period.
Some of the design features for buildings in this climate
are:
 Appropriate orientation and shape of building
 Use of trees as wind barriers

43.  Walls, glass surfaces protected by overhangs, fins, and trees
 Pale colours and glazed china mosaic tiles
 Exhausts
 Courtyards, wind towers, and arrangement of openings
 Trees and ponds for evaporative cooling
 Dehumidifiers and desiccant cooling
 Roof insulation and wall insulation
 Thicker walls
 Air locks and balconies
 Weather stripping