Asia: Climate and Natural Vegetation
ICSE Class 8 · Geography · Chapter 8
What this chapter covers
- Weather, climate and the size of Asia
- Factors affecting the climate of Asia
- Climate types of Asia
- Natural vegetation of Asia
- Tundra vegetation
- Taiga forests
- Tropical deciduous forests
- Thorny vegetation
- Equatorial forests
- Wildlife of Asia
Key definitions
Weather is the condition of the atmosphere at a particular place and time, described by its temperature, rainfall, wind, humidity and cloud.
Climate is the average weather of a large area, worked out from records kept over a long period, usually thirty years or more.
Latitude is the distance of a place north or south of the Equator, measured in degrees.
Altitude is the height of a place above sea level.
Relief is the shape and height of the land surface, such as its mountains, plateaus and plains.
Natural vegetation is the plant life that grows in an area on its own, without being planted or cared for by people.
Tundra vegetation is the low plant cover of the Arctic lands, made up of mosses, lichens, grasses and small shrubs, with no trees.
Coniferous trees are trees that bear their seeds in cones and usually have narrow, needle-shaped leaves.
Tropical deciduous forests are forests of the tropical monsoon lands in which most trees shed their leaves for a few weeks in the dry season.
Thorny vegetation is the plant cover of hot, dry lands, made up of scattered thorny bushes, short trees, coarse grasses and fleshy plants that store water.
Equatorial forests are dense, evergreen forests of the hot, wet lands near the Equator, with very tall trees and a huge variety of plants.
Wildlife is the animals, birds, insects and other creatures that live freely in their natural surroundings and are not tamed by people.
Key points
- Climate is the average weather of a large area over a long period; weather is the condition at one place and time.
- Latitude, altitude, distance from the sea, relief, winds such as the monsoon, and ocean currents control the climate of Asia.
- Temperature falls by about 6.5 °C for every 1,000 m of height.
- Places far from the sea have a continental climate with a large annual range of temperature.
- Asia's main climate types are equatorial, tropical (monsoon), desert, temperate and tundra.
- Natural vegetation depends mainly on temperature and rainfall.
- Tundra has mosses, lichens and dwarf shrubs; the taiga has coniferous trees such as pine, fir, spruce and larch.
- Tropical deciduous forests, with teak and sal, shed leaves in the dry season.
- Thorny vegetation, such as babool (a kind of acacia) and khejri, is suited to hot, dry lands.
- Equatorial forests are dense, evergreen and layered, with hardwoods such as ebony and rosewood.
- Each vegetation belt has its own wildlife, from the reindeer of the tundra to the orang-utan of the rainforest.
- Many Asian animals are endangered, and conservation protects them for the future.