🌦️ Climate of UP — Seasons & Rainfall

Introduction

Uttar Pradesh has a subtropical monsoon climate with strong seasonal contrasts. The easiest way to understand UP climate is not by isolated numbers, but by regional patterns:

• western UP and Bundelkhand are hotter and relatively drier
• eastern UP is wetter and more flood-prone
• winter fog is a major Gangetic plain feature
• Loo and Mahawat are classic exam terms tied to summer and winter

The state's wide east-west spread and varied physical regions create significant climatic differences even within the same state.

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Three Seasons of UP

Season	Hindi Name	Months	Key Feature
Summer (ग्रीष्म)	गर्मी	March – June	Extreme heat; Loo winds
Monsoon / Rainy (वर्षा)	बरसात	July – September	SW monsoon; bulk of annual rain
Winter (शीत)	सर्दी / जाड़ा	October – February	Cold waves; dense fog

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Summer Season (March – June)

Temperature Pattern

Month	Western UP	Eastern UP	Bundelkhand
March	30–35°C	28–33°C	32–37°C
April	36–40°C	34–38°C	38–42°C
May	40–45°C	36–42°C	42–47°C
June	40–46°C	36–40°C	44–48°C

Loo Winds (लू)

• Hot, dry westerly winds that blow across the plains from May to mid-June
• Originate from the Thar Desert (Rajasthan) and travel eastward
• Temperature during Loo can exceed 45°C
• Most severe in western UP and Bundelkhand (Agra, Jhansi, Banda)
• Health hazard — causes heatstroke and dehydration
• Intensity decreases as winds move eastward due to moisture gain

For exam memory, think of Loo as the signature summer wind of the north Indian plains. UP questions usually test where it is strongest and what kind of weather it produces.

Heat Wave Records

Location	Notable Temperature	Remark
Banda	~48°C	Among the hottest in UP
Jhansi	~47°C	Consistently extreme summers
Agra	~46°C	Western UP heat belt
Lucknow	~44°C	Central UP
Gorakhpur	~42°C	Eastern UP (relatively cooler)

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Monsoon / Rainy Season (July – September)

The Southwest Monsoon (दक्षिण-पश्चिम मानसून) is the primary source of rainfall in UP. In simple exam language, UP receives monsoon influence mainly through the Bay of Bengal branch, which is why eastern UP usually gets rain earlier and in greater quantity than the west.

Monsoon Arrival

Event	Approximate Date
Monsoon reaches eastern UP	Usually around the second half of June
Covers entire UP	Early to mid-July
Monsoon withdrawal begins	Mid-September (western UP first)
Complete withdrawal	Early October

Rainfall Distribution — East to West Gradient

This is one of the most important exam facts about UP's climate:

Region	Annual Rainfall	Remark
Eastern UP (Gorakhpur, Bahraich)	150–170 cm	Highest — closer to monsoon source
Central UP (Lucknow, Kanpur)	100–120 cm	Moderate
Western UP (Agra, Mathura)	84–90 cm	Lowest — monsoon weakens westward
Bundelkhand (Jhansi, Banda)	75–100 cm	Erratic; drought-prone

Rainfall decreases from east to west — this gradient is a frequently asked exam fact.

Monsoon Characteristics

• ~75–85% of annual rainfall occurs during monsoon months
• Distribution is uneven — causes both floods (east) and droughts (Bundelkhand)
• Break monsoon periods (dry spells within monsoon) can severely damage Kharif crops
• Eastern UP rivers (Ghaghra, Rapti, Gandak) flood regularly during heavy monsoon years

This is one of the most useful climate contrasts in the whole course:

• east: more rainfall, more flood risk
• west: less rainfall
• Bundelkhand: erratic rainfall, stronger drought tendency

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Winter Season (October – February)

Temperature Pattern

Month	Western UP	Eastern UP	Bundelkhand
November	18–22°C	20–24°C	19–23°C
December	12–17°C	14–18°C	13–17°C
January	3–15°C	6–17°C	5–16°C
February	8–20°C	10–22°C	9–21°C

Winter Rainfall (Mahawat / मावठ)

• Caused by Western Disturbances (extratropical cyclones from the Mediterranean)
• Brings 5–10% of annual rainfall
• Occurs mainly in January–February
• Called "Mahawat" locally
• Extremely beneficial for Rabi crops (wheat, mustard, gram)

Students often overlook this because winter is thought of as a dry season. But in north Indian agriculture, this light winter rain can be very beneficial when it arrives at the right time.

Dense Fog (कोहरा)

• December and January bring dense fog across the Gangetic Plain
• Visibility drops to near zero in severe episodes
• Major disruptions to road, rail, and air transport
• Delhi-Lucknow-Varanasi corridor most affected
• Causes crop damage — delays wheat flowering, promotes fungal diseases

Cold Waves (शीत लहर)

• Occur when cold air from Central Asia pushes southward
• Minimum temperatures can drop to 1–3°C in western UP
• Districts most affected: Meerut, Agra, Muzaffarnagar, Lucknow
• IMD issues cold wave warnings when temperature drops 4.5°C below normal

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Climate Data Summary Table

Parameter	Value
Climate type	Subtropical Monsoon (Cwa — Koppen)
Annual rainfall range	84 cm (west) to 170 cm (east)
Hottest month	May–June
Coldest month	January
Highest recorded temp	~48°C (Banda region)
Lowest recorded temp	~1°C (western UP, January)
Monsoon months	July–September
Winter rain name	Mahawat (from Western Disturbances)

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Climate Change Impacts on UP

This topic is real and important, but exact long-term trend numbers can change depending on the dataset and period used. For a stable lesson, it is safer to remember the broad direction:

Impact	Broad Pattern
Rising temperatures	Heat stress is increasing across many parts of the Indo-Gangetic region
Erratic monsoon	Rain may come in more uneven or intense spells
Heat waves	Hotter conditions especially stress western UP and Bundelkhand
Groundwater stress	Higher evaporation and irrigation demand can worsen pressure
Crop vulnerability	Wheat and other seasonal crops are sensitive to temperature stress

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Summary Cheat Sheet

Term	Quick Recall
Climate type	Subtropical Monsoon (Cwa)
Loo winds	Hot, dry westerly; May–June; from Thar
Hottest areas	Banda, Jhansi (~47–48°C)
Highest rainfall	Eastern UP (150–170 cm)
Lowest rainfall	Western UP, Agra belt (84–90 cm)
Monsoon entry	Mid-June (eastern UP first)
Monsoon share	75–85% of annual rain
Mahawat	Winter rain from Western Disturbances
Fog months	December–January
Coldest temp	~1–3°C in western UP (January)