CHAPTER II. 



CLIMATE. 



THE tropics cover so vast an area that it is obvious that 

 there must be a great variety in climates, but in general the 

 types of climate may be set down as two : the moist, near the 

 equator and the sea; and the dry, inland, and usually away 

 from the equator. The former is characterised by a moist air, 

 and a comparatively uniform temperature, with but little daily 

 or annual variation, the latter by a considerable range, often, 

 if it be far from the equator, annual as well as daily, and a dry 

 air ; while of course as one ascends the mountains one as a rule 

 comes into a cooler and moister climate. 



Every type of climate may be met with in passing from 

 Galle in the south of Ceylon, to Leh in the northern Himalayas, 

 so that a comparison of some of the figures for various places 

 lying between these extremes will be useful. The nearer to 

 the equator, other things being equal, the smaller is the annual 

 range of temperature : 



Colombo Madura Cochin Bombay Surat Calcutta Patna 1 

 Mean max. 89 101 91 90 100 96 101 



min. 72 68 71 68 56 55 49 



humidity 78 65 80 77 62 78 65 



Benares Lucknow Lahore Jacobabad Peshawar Leh (11,000 ft.) 

 Mean max. 105 104 107 111 105 80 



min. 48 46 43 43 39 9 



humidity 60 57 50 46 54 49 



1 This and all after it are not geographically "tropical" but are usually 

 looked upon as in the tropics. 



