Climate of Bihar

Bihar completely lies in the Sub Tropical region of Temperate zone and its climatic type is Humid Sub Tropical (Cwa).

Seasons

Winter

The cold weather commences early in November and comes to an end in the middle of March. The climate in the October and November is pleasant. The days are bright and warm and the sun is not too hot. As soon as the sun sets the temperature falls and the heat of the day yields place to a sharp bracing cold. The temperature in Winter all over Bihar varies from 0–10 °C. On 7 January 2013, in early morning, mercury dipped to a record low to 0 °C in Gopalganj, 0.2 °C in Jehanabad, 0.7 °C in Vaishali, 1 °C in Patna and other cities. December and January are the coldest month in Bihar.

Summer

The hot weather sets in and lasts until the middle of June. The highest temperature is often registered in May which is the hottest month in the state. Like the rest of the northern India, Bihar also experiences dust-storms, thunder-storms and dust-raising winds during the hot season. Dust storms having a velocity of 48–64 km/hour are most frequent in May and with second maximum in April and June. The hot winds (loo) of Bihar plains blow during April and May with an average velocity of 8–16 km/hour. This hot winds greatly affects human comfort during this season.

Monsoon

variation in rainfall across India.

Soon after Mid June this the rainy season commences and continues till the end of September, the beginning of this season occurs when a storm from the Bay of Bengal passes over Bihar. The commencement of monsoon may be as early as the last week of May or as the first or second week of July. The rainy season begins in June. The rainiest months are July and August. The rains are the gifts of the south west monsoon. There are in Bihar three distinct areas where rainfall exceeds 1800 mm. Two of them lie on northern and north-western wings of the state and the third lies in the Netarhat pat. The south-west monsoon normally withdraws from Bihar in the first week of October.

Post Monsoon

An important feature of the retreating monsoon season in Bihar is the invasion of tropical cyclones originating in the Bay of Bengal at about 12° N latitude. Bihar is also influenced by the typhoons originating in the south China sea. The maximum frequency of the tropical cyclones in Bihar is during September–November especially during the asterism called hathiya. These cyclones are essential for the maturing of paddy, and are required for the moistening of the soil for the cultivation of rabi crops.

Disasters

Floods

A view of 2008 Bihar flood

Main article: Floods in Bihar

See also: 2008 Bihar flood and 2007 Bihar flood

Total human deaths is 5874 and animal deaths is 19044 in Bihar due to floods between 1979–2006

Bihar is India's most flood-prone State, with 76% of the population in the north Bihar living under the recurring threat of flood devastation. According to some historical data, 16.5% of the total flood affected area in India is located in Bihar while 22.1% of the flood affected population in India lives in Bihar. About 68,800 square kilometres (26,600 sq mi) out of total geographical area of 94,160 square kilometres (36,360 sq mi) comprising 73.06% is flood affected. Floods in Bihar are a recurring disaster which on an annual basis destroys thousands of human lives apart from livestock and assets worth millions.

Pollution

There are many environmental issues in Bihar. Air pollution, water pollution, garbage, and pollution of the natural environment are all challenges for Bihar. The major sources of pollution in Bihar include the rampant burning of fuel wood and biomass such as dried waste from livestock as the primary source of energy, [7] lack of organized garbage and waste removal services, lack of sewage treatment operations monsoon water drainage system, diversion of consumer waste into rivers, cremation practices near river ganga. Major environmental issues are agricultural degradation of land, resource depletion (water, mineral, forest, sand, rocks etc.), environmental degradation, public health, loss of biodiversity, loss of resilience in ecosystems, livelihood security for the poor.[6] Air pollution, poor management of waste, growing water scarcity, falling groundwater tables, water pollution, preservation and, biodiversity loss, and land/soil degradation are some of the major environmental issues Bihar faces today.

Bihar has major water pollution issues. Discharge of untreated sewage is the single most important cause for pollution of surface and ground water in Bihar. There is a large gap between generation and treatment of domestic waste water in Bihar. The problem is not only that Bihar lacks sufficient treatment capacity but also that the sewage treatment plants that exist do not operate and are not maintained.[18] The majority of the government-owned sewage treatment plants remain closed most of the time due to improper design or poor maintenance or lack of reliable electricity supply to operate the plants, together with absentee employees and poor management. The waste water generated in these areas normally percolates in the soil or evaporates. The uncollected wastes accumulate in the urban areas cause unhygienic conditions and release pollutants that leach to surface and groundwater. Other sources of water pollution include agriculture run off and small scale factories along the Ganga river of Bihar. Fertilizers and pesticides used in agriculture have been found in Ganga River.

Air pollution in Bihar is a serious issue with the major sources being fuel wood and biomass burning, fuel adulteration, vehicle emission and traffic congestion. Traditional fuel (fuel wood, crop residue and dung cake) dominates domestic energy use in rural area.[7] [23] [24] the biomasses based household stoves in Bihar are also a leading source of greenhouse emissions contributing to climate change.[25] , rice straw and other crop residue burning in open is a major source of air pollution.[29] Trash and garbage is a common sight in urban and rural areas. It is a major source of pollution. Street corners are piled with trash. Public places and sidewalks are despoiled with filth and litter, rivers and canals act as garbage dumps. Municipalities Bihar has waste collection employees. However, these are unionized government workers and their work performance is neither measured nor monitored. Some of the few solid waste landfills Bihar overflowing and poorly managed. They have become significant sources of greenhouse emissions and breeding sites for disease vectors such as flies, mosquitoes, cockroaches, rats, and other pests. The Supreme Court of India which is in New Delhi gave a significant verdict on noise pollution in 2005.[41] Unnecessary honking of vehicles makes for a high decibel level of noise in cities. The use of loudspeakers for political purposes and for sermons by temples and mosques makes noise pollution in residential areas worse. In January 2010, Government of India published norms of permissible noise levels in urban and rural areas

See also

• 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake
• Bengal famine of 1770
• Bihar famine of 1873–74
• Climate of India
• Climatic regions of India
• Geography of Bihar
• Golghar