Give an account of weather conditions and characteristics of the cold season.

The cold weather season begins in mid-November in northern India and stays till February. December and January are the coldest months in the northern part of India. The temperature decreases as we go from the south to the north. The average temperature in Chennai, on the eastern coast, is between 24°-25° Celsius. At the same time, in the northern plains, it ranges between 10°C and 15° Celsius. Here, the days are warm, and the nights are cold. Frost is common in the north, and the higher slopes of the Himalayas experience snowfall. During this season, the northeast trade winds prevail over the country. They blow from land to sea, and hence, for the most part of the country, it is a dry season. Some amount of rainfall occurs on the Tamil Nadu coast from these winds as here they blow from sea to land. In the northern part of the country, a feeble high-pressure region develops, with light winds moving outwards from this area. Influenced by the relief, these winds blow through the Ganga Valley from the west and the northwest. The weather is normally marked by clear sky, low temperatures and low humidity and feeble, variable winds. A characteristic feature of the cold weather season over the northern plains is the inflow of cyclonic disturbances from the west and the northwest. These low-pressure systems originate over the Mediterranean Sea and western Asia and move into India along with the westerly flow. They cause much-needed winter rains over the plains and snowfall in the mountains. Although the total amount of winter rainfall (locally known as ‘Mahawat’) is small, they are of immense importance for the cultivation of ‘rabi’ crops. The peninsular region does not have a well-defined cold season. There is hardly any noticeable seasonal change in temperature patterns during winters due to the moderating influence of the sea.