Do you know that there are some places in India where temperatures can go below 0°C? Find out the places in India where temperatures sometimes go below 0°C. What is common among these places? Why does it become colder there and not in other places?
Places in India where temperatures go below 0°C: Leh-Ladakh, Drass (Kargil), Srinagar, Shimla, and other high-altitude regions in the Himalayas.
What is common among these places: Their high altitude (elevation above sea level).
Why these places are colder: (1) Higher altitudes have thinner air that holds less heat. (2) Temperature decreases by about 6.5°C for every 1000 meters of elevation. (3) These regions are farther from the equator and receive less direct sunlight. (4) Snow cover reflects sunlight, keeping temperatures low.
Explanation
The chapter introduces negative temperatures. In India, high-altitude regions in the Himalayas experience sub-zero temperatures. The common factor is high elevation. Temperature decreases with altitude because the atmosphere becomes thinner and holds less heat at higher elevations.
Solution Steps
Identify places in India with sub-zero temperatures: Leh-Ladakh, Drass (Kargil), Srinagar, Shimla, and Himalayan regions.
Identify the common factor: high altitude (elevation above sea level).
Explain reason (1): Higher altitudes have thinner air that holds less heat.
Explain reason (2): Temperature decreases by about 6.5°C for every 1000 meters of elevation.
Explain reason (3): These regions are farther from the equator and receive less direct sunlight.
Explain reason (4): Snow cover reflects sunlight, keeping temperatures low.