Test: The Hot, Wet Equatorial Climate - UPSC MCQ

The Amazon Basin, as well as the Congo Basin, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore, experience an equatorial hot, wet climate.

Great uniformity of temperature throughout the year with no winters is the most outstanding feature of the equatorial climate.

The annual range of temperature in equatorial regions is small, typically around 3 degrees Celsius.

The diurnal range of temperature in equatorial regions is fairly greater, typically around 12-15 degrees Celsius.

Convectional rainfall is the most common type of rainfall in equatorial regions, with thunderstorms and lightning often accompanying the torrential showers.

Rainfall totals double in equatorial regions when the sun is directly overhead at the spring and autumn equinoxes.

The relative humidity in equatorial regions is constantly high, typically over 80%.

Mountainous regions in equatorial regions experience much orographic or relief rainfall, in addition to the convectional rainfall.

Equatorial regions support a luxuriant type of vegetation known as tropical or equatorial rainforest.

The special term "Selva" is used to describe the dense and extravagant forest in the Amazon lowlands.

Equatorial regions have a hot and humid climate, which stimulates rapid plant growth. Shifting cultivation is a practice in which small patches of forest are cleared and burned for farming, and the crops are grown for a few years until the soil is depleted of nutrients, and then the farmers move to another patch of forest. This is a common practice in equatorial regions because the dense forest cover and difficult terrain make it difficult to carry out intensive agriculture or plantation agriculture.

Equatorial regions have a hot and humid climate, which is not suitable for growing wheat, which is a cool-weather crop. However, crops like tapioca, maize, bananas, and groundnuts are commonly grown in equatorial regions.

Rubber was discovered in Brazil (in the Amazon basin) in the early 19th century. However, due to tree diseases and lack of commercial organizations, Brazil is not a major exporter of natural rubber today. Instead, Malaysia and Indonesia are the leading producers of rubber in the world.

Cocoa is a major crop in West Africa, and Ghana and Nigeria are the two most important producers of cocoa in the world.

The hot and humid climate in equatorial regions is challenging for human beings, animals, and plants. The climate makes it difficult to carry out intensive agriculture or plantation agriculture, and it encourages the spread of pests and insects. Additionally, germs and bacteria are easily transmitted through moist air, which can be injurious to human health.