Palani Hills Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park - Climate

Climate

Kodaikanal, India
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D
59 18 8 35 19 9 53 20 10 136 21 12 146 21 13 98 19 12 122 18 11 153 18 11 186 18 11 254 17 11 235 16 10 141 17 9
Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
Precipitation totals in mm
Source: Indian Meteorological Department
Imperial conversion
J F M A M J J A S O N D
2.3 64 47 1.4 65 47 2.1 68 50 5.4 69 53 5.8 70 55 3.8 66 54 4.8 64 53 6 64 52 7.3 65 52 10 63 51 9.3 62 49 5.6 62 48
Average max. and min. temperatures in °F
Precipitation totals in inches

The Palani Hills have a montane Tropical monsoon climate which varies from west to east. Generally, as one proceeds from the Kerala border in the west to the foothills in the east, average rainfall decreases and temperature increases. Compared to the Deccan plateau and the southwestern coastal plains, temperatures vary from moderate to quite cool. In the central Palani Hills at Kodaikanal, during March to May, the temperature range is between 10.1 to 20.9 °C (50 to 70 °F). The temperature can rise to a high of 35 °C (95 °F). During Dec-Feb it is between 8.1 to 18.6 °C (47 to 65 °F). In January, night temperatures sometimes drop below freezing, and thin ice is seen on lake edges in the early morning.

The climate of the upper Palnis has four clearly defined seasons:

  • the dry season, usually between January and March, during which rain is scarce and limited to around 10 rainy days, the air is crisp, dry and cold, and when ground frost occurs;
  • The warm season of April and May when most tourists arrive for their holiday in the hills and when summer showers and rain may fall on 18 to 20 days;
  • The Southwest monsoon season extends between June and September, with around 45 days of rainfall spread over the four months;
  • The Northeast monsoon season from October through early December, when rain is abundant and occurs over 30 or more days. Depending on the timing of the northeast monsoon, the latter half of December may experience a few days of heavy rain or remain completely dry.

The average annual rainfall is 1,617 millimetres (63.7 in), mostly during the north-east monsoon.

Read more about this topic:  Palani Hills Wildlife Sanctuary And National Park

Famous quotes containing the word climate:

    “Culture is the name for what people are interested in, their thoughts, their models, the books they read and the speeches they hear, their table-talk, gossip, controversies, historical sense and scientific training, the values they appreciate, the quality of life they admire. All communities have a culture. It is the climate of their civilization.”
    —Walter Lippmann (1889–1974)

    “When we consider how much climate contributes to the happiness of our condition, by the fine sensation it excites, and the productions it is the parent of, we have reason to value highly the accident of birth in such a one as that of Virginia.”
    —Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)

    “Russian forests crash down under the axe, billions of trees are dying, the habitations of animals and birds are layed waste, rivers grow shallow and dry up, marvelous landscapes are disappearing forever.... Man is endowed with creativity in order to multiply that which has been given him; he has not created, but destroyed. There are fewer and fewer forests, rivers are drying up, wildlife has become extinct, the climate is ruined, and the earth is becoming ever poorer and uglier.”
    —Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860–1904)