1884.] 



Bains of Nurtlicrn India. 



9 



of tlie atmosphere, determines a convective current witli a cyclonic cir- 

 culation, and a barometric minimum. The prevailing calmness of the 

 Punjab atmosphere, combined with a high degree of relative humidity 

 in the winter months, affords conditions not unfavourable to this action. 



Before proceeding further with this discussion, it will be of advan- 

 tage to consider the distribution of the winter rainfall, its distribution 

 both in time and space. 



For this purpose it will not be necessary to illustrate the subject 

 in great detail, and, instead of giving the means of individual stations, 

 I shall summarize the data in the form of the averages of large areas. 

 The following table gives the average amount of the fall in each of the 

 months from November to March. 



Summary of the Winter Rainfall of Extra-tropical India. 



Inches of rainfall. 



1 





1 



0-65 



1-06 



1-29 



1-57 



2-64 



2-66 



0-77 



115 



114 



0-91 



0-95 



0-95 



2-10 



2-80 



2-54 



0-81 



0-66 



0-57 



0-66 



0-55 



0-34 



0-58 



0-53 



0-45 



0-43 



0-79 



118 



0-64 



1-35 



3-45 



0-23 



0-37 



0-44 



Oil 



0-16 



006 



Oil 



0-31 



015 



0-42 



0-40 



0-23 



0-58 



0-78 



0-57 



0-48 



107 



IGO 



Total. 



Peshawar and Derajat 



Hazara and Patwar 



The four doabs 



Eastern Pun j ab 



Kangra, Sirmoor and Kumaon . . . 



N. W. P. & Oudh, Western half*... 



Ditto ditto, Eastern half ... 



North Behar and Bhagalpore 



Northern Bengal 



Assam and Cachar 



Upper Sind 



Lower Siud, Cutch and Gujarat... 



Rajputana 



Central India, &c 



Mirzapore and Chutia Nagpur ... 

 Lower Bengal 



5 



4 

 11 

 11 

 11 

 24 

 15 



5 



8 

 13 



3 

 18 

 20 

 24 

 14 

 15 



0-46 

 1-06 

 0-18 

 007 

 018 

 006 

 0-10 

 0-08 

 0-34 

 0-95 

 008 

 008 

 0-09 

 0-16 

 0-22 

 0-50 



0-51 

 1-50 

 0-60 

 0-58 

 101 

 0-33 

 015 

 010 

 012 

 0-36 

 0-16 

 0-07 

 0-27 

 019 

 013 

 017 



3-97 

 9-43 

 3-84 

 3-46 

 8-63 

 2-43 

 1-80 

 1-74 

 2-86 

 7-00 

 1-28 

 0-48 

 0-93 

 1-40 

 2-28 

 3-82 



The above table includes the whole of extra-tropical India, and 

 it is only in a portion of this region that the cold weather rainfall can 

 be regarded as a well-marked and regularly recurrent phenomenon ; 

 having a distinct maximum, that is to say, in the winter or spring 

 months and equally defined minima before and after. The variations, 

 shewn in the above table, are considerable, both as regards the total 

 amount and the epoch of the maximum. It is on the N. W. Himalaya 



* The meridian of Lucknow is taken as the boundary. 



2 



