Micro-climatological investigations in India

Abstract

The paper summarises some of the interesting results regarding the climate of the air layers near the ground at Poona (India), under subtropical conditions. The shimmering phenomenon, the thickness of the shimmering layer as estimated from the decay of short period temperature fluctuations with height, the diurnal variation of temperature in the soil and in the air layers near the ground surface, and the growth and decay of the inversion layer in relation to the shimmering layer are discussed. An instrument for recording the heat loss by convection from the insolated ground and the phenomenon of the invisible condensation of water vapour in the soil surface compensating the loss by evaporation during a part of the day are next referred to. The correlation between the vertical gradient of temperature and of wind velocity is found to be quite significant. Considerable progress has also been made in investigating the microclimates of plant communities like crops. Each crop shows a typical microclimate. The canopy effect in sugarcane resulting in a forced inversion of temperature during day time is of particular interest. Variations of wind velocity and evaporation both with height above ground and from crop to crop are also discussed.