9.2 Climate and Vegetation

Notes

• The Arabian Peninsula is mostly desert with very hot summers and little rain. Oases and wells let settlements exist.
• Monsoons are seasonal winds that reverse direction. In South Asia the summer southwest monsoon brings heavy rain from the Indian Ocean (about June to September), and the winter monsoon is dry. Farming depends on its timely arrival.
• The Himalayas block cold air from the north and force monsoon rains onto the southern slopes, so some places there are among the wettest on Earth.
• Central Asia has steppe (grassland) and desert, with hot summers and cold winters.
• Coastal Turkey and parts of the Levant have a Mediterranean climate.
• Water scarcity and dependence on a few rivers are major issues in many arid areas.