Page:Gódávari.djvu/34

12 {| class="wikitable" ! !! Temperature !! Temperature !! Temperature The only station in the district at which systematic meteorological observations (other than the registration of rainfall) are made is Cocanada. There a daily record of the temperature is kept, and the results are telegraphed to the Meteorological Reporter at Madras. The marginal statement gives the average maxima and minima and the mean for each month in degrees Fahrenheit deduced from the figures of a series of years. It will be seen that the weather is very hot from April to June and that the mean temperature does not fall below 80 degrees till after October. The climate in December and January is cool, the average maximum temperature not exceeding 81 degrees and the average mxinimum being as low as 65. Along the coast the effect of the heat is much enhanced by the dampness of the air. The hill tracts and the country above the ghats are both cooler and drier than Cocanada.
 * Month || Average maximum || Average maximum || Mean.
 * January || 81.0 || 65.3 || 73.2
 * February || 85.8 || 69.6 || 77.7
 * March || 91.7 || 73.5 || 82.6
 * April || 95.6 || 78.3 || 86.9
 * May || 100.7 || 82.8 || 91.8
 * June || 95.2 || 81.0 || 88.1
 * July || 91.7 || 79.3 || 85.5
 * August || 89.7 || 78.5 || 84.1
 * September || 89.2 || 78.1 || 83.7
 * October || 87.9 || 75.8 || 81.9
 * November || 83.5 || 70.5 || 77.0
 * December || 80.7 || 65.7 || 73.2
 * The year || 89.4 || 74.9 || 82.1
 * }
 * July || 91.7 || 79.3 || 85.5
 * August || 89.7 || 78.5 || 84.1
 * September || 89.2 || 78.1 || 83.7
 * October || 87.9 || 75.8 || 81.9
 * November || 83.5 || 70.5 || 77.0
 * December || 80.7 || 65.7 || 73.2
 * The year || 89.4 || 74.9 || 82.1
 * }
 * November || 83.5 || 70.5 || 77.0
 * December || 80.7 || 65.7 || 73.2
 * The year || 89.4 || 74.9 || 82.1
 * }
 * The year || 89.4 || 74.9 || 82.1
 * }

Light north-easterly breezes in January and February, the driest months of the year, are followed in March and April by light south and south-east winds which blow during the day but die down at sunset. This south breeze is called by the natives payiru gáli, or the 'crop wind.' By May the wind, which is still light, has veered round to the south-west, but north-westerly squalls frequently occur, generally in the early part of the night, and sometimes blow with great violence. The south-west monsoon arrives in June and continues for some three months. In September and October land and sea breezes alternate, and the weather becomes calm and sultry as the north-east monsoon approaches. The latter sets in with light or moderate currents of air about the beginning of November, and brings bright and cool weather with it. Cyclones (see Chapter VIII) are apt to occur in this month. In December the wind blows from the east during the day and from the north during the night. The latter is called the hill (konda) wind. The botany of Gódávari is interesting from several points of view. The physical geography of the district permits the