The Importance Of Climatology

Climatology is the scientific study of spatio- temporal characteristics and variation of climatic elements like rainfall, temperature, evapotranspiration, humidity, pressure, winds and air masses. The word Climatology is derived from two Greek words ‘klima’ and ‘logia’. The klima means place or zone and logia means the study of climate. The climate is the average study of weather. The standard average periods for climatic analysis are 30 years defined by the World Meteorological organization (WMO).

According to Critchfield (1975), the climatology is the science that seeks to describe and explain the nature of climate, how it differs from place to place, and how it is related to man's activities. In his opinion "Climatology broadens the findings

This is so because each and every characteristic of climate is deter¬mined by the exchange of heat, moisture, and momentum between the earth's surface and the atmosphere. 1

According to D. S. Lal (2011) the term climatology is correctly applied to the study of the following five growing fields: climatological record, theory of climate, energy and moisture balances of the earth, study of climate as the environment of living organisms, and study of climate as the direct environment of man.1

Helmut Landsberg (1906-1985) fostered the use of statistical analysis in climatology, which led to its evolution into a physical science.2

According to A. Awasthi (1995) Climatology studies the spatial distribution of average values of climatic elements, e.g. temperature, rainfall, pressure and winds, humidity and evopotranspiration etc. and their relation to man's activities, weather is the state of atmosphere. It consists of short-term variation of atmospheric conditions. Climate on the other hand, is concerned with the average weather conditions. The climate of a specific area is represented by the statistical collection of its weather conditions during a specific interval of time (usually 30 years or more).

Climatology and

In the study of physical and Cultural geography the climate is essential part. The geographical location and altitude have influence over the climatic elements. Therefore, these subjects are depending on each other.

According to Riley and Spolton (1974), “The distribution of atmospheric phenomena over the earth is differentiated by latitude, topography, altitude, distribution of land, sea, and ice¬caps, and also, to some extent, by forests and great cities. All these influences are geographical. The geographers, among other social scientists, are engaged in long- term acquisition and application of environmental knowledge”.

According to F. Kenneth Hare (1961), “Climatology is an integral part of physical geography, perhaps closer to the centre than any other”.

Critchfield describes Physical Climatology, Regional Climatology, and Applied Climatology sub-division of Climatology.

Climate Change Scenario in India

According to the Climate Change 2014 synthesis report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) India is assessed to the most risky country for extreme weather phenomena. Most of the important cities are located along the coast line. These cities are come under the risk from sea level