Land

Climate

Climate of Meghalaya plateau is influenced by elevation and distribution of physical relief. On the basis of weather condition, the Meghalaya plateau has 4 distinct seasons: They are

 (a) The rainy season from May to early October.

 (b) The cool season from early October to November.

 (c) The cold season from December to February.

 (d) The warm season or hot season from March to April . 

In this period the entire plateau witness strong winds. This is due to northward migration of jet streams from the Gangetic plain to Tibetan plateau and development of low pressure in the Tibetan plateau at this time of the year.

The western part of the Garo hills is relatively lower in elevation as compared to Khasi and Jaintia hills. Garo hills experienced higher temperature conditions and humidity from February to October. April and May are the warmest months and January is the coldest month. The nature of elevation and slope has also influenced the distribution of rainfall. The rainfall is heaviest in the south-eastern Garo hills and decreases in the central regions and in the north.

The Khasi and Jaintia hills experiences a moderate climate because of higher elevation. Warm and humid conditions are prevalent in the foothills region in the south and sub-montane region in the north and central uplands. The plateau experiences a temperature of 24^o c throughout the year.

The southern parts of the plateau has the Cherrapunji -Mawsynram region. It receives the heaviest rainfall, an annual average of 12670 mm. This is due to its location at the head of Bangladesh plains. The south west monsoon strikes these margins as it raises abruptly from the plains. The vertical movement of this moist monsoon streams precipitate heavily in the escarpment region. This type of rainfall is known as orographic rainfall.

The Khasi and Jaintia hills receive an average of 7700 mm of rainfall and lies in the rain shadow area. Cherrapunji and Mawsynram lying about 55 Km south of Shillong receives an annual rainfall of about 14,000 mm which is the highest amount of rainfall in the world.