The climate of Uttar Pradesh

The climate of Uttar Pradesh (U.P.) is primarily defined as humid subtropical with dry winter (CWa) type with parts of Western U.P. as semi-arid (BS) type.

However based on the Köppen climate classification, it can be classified mostly as Humid Subtropical with dry winter type with parts of Eastern U.P. as Semi-Arid (BS) type.

U.P. has a climate of extremes. With temperatures fluctuating anywhere from 0 °C to 50 °C in several parts of the state and cyclical droughts and floods due to unpredictable rains, the summers are extremely hot, winters cold and rainy season can be either very wet or very dry.

The primary temperature, rainfall and wind features of the three Distinct Seasons of U.P. can be summarized as below:

18 Summer (March–June): Hot & dry (temperatures rise to 45 °C, sometimes 47-48 °C); low relative humidity (20%); dust laden winds.

Monsoon (June–September): 85% of average annual rainfall of 990 mm. Fall in temperature 40-45° on rainy days.

Winter (October–February): Cold (temperatures drop to 3-4 °C, sometimes below -1 °C); clear skies; foggy conditions in some tracts. Given significant climatic differences,

U.P. has been divided into two meteorological subdivisions – U.P. East and U.P. West. IMD office situated at Airport, Lucknow is nodal for providing all the weather related forecasts & details.

Average Rainfall

Precipitation in Uttar Pradesh is primarily a summer phenomenon, the Bay of Bengal branch of the Indian Monsoon is the major bearer of rain in most parts of U.P. It is the South-West Monsoon which brings most of the rain here, although rain due to the western disturbances and North-East Monsoon also contribute small quantities towards the overall precipitation of the state.

The mean south-west monsoon (June, July, August & September) rainfall (799 mm) contributes 84.4% of annual rainfall (946 mm). Mean monthly rainfall during July (268 mm) is highest and contributes about 28.3% of annual rainfall. The mean rainfall during August is slightly lower and contributes about 26.5% of annual rainfall. June and September rainfall contribute 11.2% and 18.4% of annual rainfall, respectively. Contribution of pre-monsoon (March, April & May) rainfall and postmonsoon (October, November & December) rainfall in annual rainfall is 7.1% and 4.9% respectively. Coefficient of variation is higher during the months of November, December,January and February.