Give an account of distribution of annual rainfall in India.

There is a great variation in the distribution of rainfall. Over 80% rainfall is received in the four rainy months. During cold weather, India receives about 25 cm of rainfall. The amount of rainfall however decreases rapidly in the interior of the peninsula. The average rainfall in India is about 125 cm but it has great spatial variations.

1. The highest rainfall occurs along the west coast, Western Ghats, the Himalayan areas and the southern hills of Meghalaya. It is more than 400 cm.

2. In the Brahmaputra valley and adjoining hills, rainfall is less than 200 cm.

3. Southern parts of Gujarat, east Tamil Nadu, northern peninsula, northern Ganga plain and Manipur get rainfall between 100-200 cm.

4. Parts of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra get the rainfall below 50 cm.

5. Rest of India gets rainfall between 50 to 100 cm.