RANGE AND CLIMATE 



21 



Rainfall. — The two great climatic divisions as regards rainfall are the 

 marine and the continental. The murine, which also extends inland, is 

 characterized by heav}' periodic rainfalls and by a high degree of cloudiness. 

 The conti}ienial, on the other hand, possesses the feature of long periods 

 of drought, with infrequent rainfall. Here belong the great desert areas 

 of Africa, Asia and northern Austraha. As belonging to this t3'pe should be 

 placed the sugar-producing areas of Eg^'pt, Peru, the lee side of the Hawaiian 

 Islands and the small area in south-eastern Spain. In all these the industry 

 is dependent on irrigation. In the marine climate lies the belt of equatorial 

 rains, within which are included the land areas of the north of South America. 

 The maximum fall here foUows the sun as it moves across the zenith, and 

 hence there are two wet seasons and two dr^^ seasons. This distribution 

 of rainfall is exemplified by the figures of the average precipitation at 

 Georgeto\\Ti (Demerara) for a period of 32 years.^ The dry season extends 

 from mid-August to mid-November, and again from February to April, 

 the maximum rainfall occurring during the hottest months of the year. 



Average Rainfall at GEORGETO^VN, Demerara. 



Monsoon Tract. — A very important climatic zone is that of the monsoons 

 embracing the sugar-growing areas of Java, India and northern Australia. 

 During the period May to October in regions south of the equator the 

 south-east monsoon prevails, and this period forms the dry season. From 

 November to April the north-west monsoon blows, and in these months the 

 rainfall is heavy. North of the equator the seasons are reversed, and more 

 remote from the equator in British India the monsoons give rise to three 

 distinct seasons, a cool dry winter followed by a hot dry^ spell, which in turn 

 gives way to a hot wet season lasting until the cool dr}^ \\dnter period arrives. 



Java. — In Java, which lies within this climatic zone, there is a great 

 difference in the precipitation experienced in the different sugar areas, 

 as indicated in the follo^^ing table (the mean of many years^), which also 

 demonstrates the seasonal regularity of the fall. 



