3 ms·
It's striking to me that according to the map in figure 4, the parts of the Indian subcontinent most at risk are in the Indus and Ganges valleys. Areas hundreds
by twic 5y ago
It's striking to me that according to the map in figure 4, the parts of the Indian subcontinent most at risk are in the Indus and Ganges valleys. Areas hundreds of miles further south (including Chennai and Bangalore) are safe!
Why is this? I see that the south is much more mountainous [1], whereas the Indus and Ganges valleys are very flat (hence that term "Indo-Gangetic Plain"). Is it just the combination of being low-altitude, being inland, and having lots of water? Or are there also differences in prevailing wind, or something else?
[1] https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/jcdtvi/relief_map_of_india/ https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/jcdtvi/relief_map_...
- scythe 5y agoThe seabreeze colliding with the mountains in South India likely results in significant cloud cover, which cools the surface by reflecting sunlight. You can see here that the southern region has less total sunlight per year (lighter = cloudier): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunshine_duration#/media/File:Globalcldfr_amo_200207-201504_lrg.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunshine_duration#/media/File:...
- jameshart 5y agoThe article indicates that in tropical regions cloud cover has an impact on maximum temperature reached; subtropical regions have less consistent cloud and so have stronger heatwaves.