Hinglish

Climate, Our Lives and Disasters

Class 7 Social Science · Chapter 3: Climates of India · NCERT Exploring Society: India and Beyond section 3.4

Learn

Climate shapes culture: Bihu, Pongal, Baisakhi, Onam, Lohri, Makar Sankranti and Chhath celebrate seasons and harvests. It shapes the economy too. A monsoon failure means poor harvests, long walks for water, farm workers migrating to cities and rising food prices; industries also need predictable weather and water.

Extreme weather brings disasters. Cyclones form when an intense low-pressure system over the sea draws in moist winds that spiral around a calm, cloudless eye; India's east coast is hit most often, and the IMD tracks each one. Floods happen when heavy rain or overflowing rivers cover dry land; Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Assam are prone. In the Himalayas a glacial lake can burst its barrier: in 2013 such floods destroyed areas around Kedarnath, and about 6,000 people died. Cities flood when drains are blocked or concrete stops water soaking in.

Landslides, sudden falls of rock and soil, strike hilly states and the Western Ghats in the monsoon, made worse by cutting forests and careless construction. Forest fires spread through dry vegetation, often started by human carelessness, harming wildlife and air. The NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) is trained for rescue and evacuation. Each disaster has natural and human causes, and both can be reduced.

Explore: name the disaster.

  1. Sort each event.

Remember

  • Climate shapes festivals and the economy; a monsoon failure hurts farmers and raises prices.
  • Cyclones, floods, landslides and forest fires have natural and human causes.

Quick check

The calm, cloudless centre of a cyclone is called its …

  1. eye
  2. tail
  3. wall
  4. root
Answer

eye. Winds spiral inwards around the eye.

Think about it

What could your school do to be ready for a flood or cyclone?

One answer

Practise evacuation drills, keep a first-aid kit and emergency numbers, know the nearest safe shelter, keep drains clean, and follow IMD warnings.

Practice

Practise with fresh questions at three levels (easy, medium, hard), some answered hands-on, with hints and worked answers. Get 4 of your last 5 right to finish the topic.