1. The Vast Peninsular Plateau has a large variation in climate. It experiences two major types of climate: (a) Tropical wet and dry and (b) Tropical semi-arid climate.
2. Most of the Peninsular Plateau except the semi-arid rain shadow region of the Western Ghats, experiences Tropical and dry climate. Winter and early summer are dry with temperatures above 18O C. Summer is hot with going temperatures above 450 in the interior.
3. It is the rainy season from June to September. The annual rainfall is between 750 and 1500 mm. only the central eastern Tamil Nadu receives rainfall during winter due to the Northeast monsoons.
4. A long stretch of land to the east of the Western Ghats and the Cardamom Hills experiences Tropical Semi-arid climate. It includes Central Maharashtra, Karnataka, Western Andhra Pradesh and interior Western Tamil Nadu.
5. This area, being in the rain shadow region, receives very unreliable, low rainfall which varies from 400 to 750 mm annually, so it is a famine prone zone.
6. March to May is hot and dry months with average mean temperatures of about 320 C.
