ME. H. F. BLANFOED ON THE WINDS OF NOETHEEN INDIA. 
583 
delta of the Ganges, sea-winds begin to prevail, however, as early as February — first 
on the coast-line and in the immediate neighbourhood of the hills, and afterwards 
more inland. Thus they gradually encroach upon and eventually displace the land- 
winds* near the ground surface, so that in April and May the opposing currents meet 
obliquely in the hilly region that lies to the west of the delta and of the plains of Orissa. 
Here at least is their average line of meeting ; in March the winds of the delta are 
nearly as much from west as south, while in May westerly elements preponderate but 
slightly over easterly at Hazareebagh and even at Benares. The gradual retrograde rota- 
tion exhibited by the wind-resultants of the Lower Bengal stations in the spring months 
is due to the increasing displacement of north-west or land-winds by those from the sea ; 
and the latter advance further and further inland, coalescing with the southerly and 
easterly currents of the Himalayan slopes, and in Behar curving round and blowing as 
north-easterly winds at Patna and Benares. In Eastern Bengal in like manner they 
blow up to the Garo and Khasi hills, where they meet the north-east current from 
Upper Assam ; while in Lower Assam a portion of the latter turns with the valley and, 
blowing steadily from the eastward, probably coalesces with the south-easterly current 
from the delta. At sea, as Captain Maury has shown, and as further appears from 
the registers of Chittagong and Akyab, southerly winds gain possession of the Bay by a 
like gradual extension southwards from the coast-line of the delta. They back down, 
as Captain Maury expresses it, about 5° or 6° of latitude on an average between February 
and March, but less rapidly on the Arakan coast than on that of India. Thus at 
Madras, in latitude 12°, southerly winds predominate in March ; whereas at Akyab, in 
latitude 20°, they do not gain the upper hand until the month of May. A section of 
the atmosphere from the Khasi hills to the Bay near the Arakan shore in the latitude of 
Akyab would probably, in the month of March, present a system of currents somewhat 
resembling the accompanying diagram (fig. 1). 
Fig. 1. 
K/vctsi .If. Deltaic Dlahv . B ay oj’ Deny at . 
In Western India, in Sind, and the desert of Bikaneer southerly winds prevail in 
like manner in the spring months, and penetrate inland as far as Mooltan and Ajmere. 
At the latter station, situated at nearly 2000 feet above the sea, they predominate as 
early as February, while at the former they do not exceed northerly winds until May. 
At Agra they are felt in April, but do not preponderate. 
In June the south-west monsoon sets in on both coasts of the peninsula. The current 
from the Arabian Sea, sweeping across the Sahyadree mountains and up the valleys of 
* In. this place and throughout this paper I use the terms ‘•'land-winds” and “sea-winds” to designate 
winds which originate respectively in the interior or at sea, without regard to their periodicity, whether it be 
annual or diurnal. 
