A biodiversity hotspot is a region with a significant reservoir of biodiversity that is under threat from humans. More like rolling hills than snow-covered mountains, the Western Ghats - stretching some 1,600 km from the north of Mumbai to the southern tip of India - are a biodiversity hotspot that contains a large proportion of the country`s plant and animal species; many of which are only found here and nowhere else in the world. In the northern part of the range, about one-third of the plants, almost half the reptiles, and more than three-fourths of the amphibians known in India are found in this narrow strip of rainforest just off the west coast. The forests in the southwestern Ghats are even richer, hosting the country`s largest population of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) as well as Bengal tigers (Panthera tigris tigris), lion-tailed macaques (Macaca silenus), sloth bears (Ursus ursinus), nilgiri tahrs (Hemitragus hylocrius) and much more.

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Sundarbans is the largest single block of tidal halo- phytic mangrove forest in the world. The Sunder- bans is a UNESCO World Heritage Site covering parts of Bangladesh and India. This region is densely cov- ered by mangrove forests, and is one of the largest reserves for the Bengal tiger. The Sundarbans is in- tersected by a complex network of tidal waterways, mudflats and small islands of salt-tolerant mangrove forests. The mangrove-dominated Ganges Delta – the Sundarbans – is a complex ecosystem comprising one of the three largest single tracts of mangrove forests of the world. Situated mostly in Bangladesh, a small portion of it lies in India.

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Jim Corbett National Park is the oldest national park in India. The park—named for the hunter and conservationist Jim Corbett who played a key role in its establishment—was established in 1936 as Hailey National Park. Situated in Nainital district of Uttarakhand the park acts as a protected area for the endangered Bengal tiger of India, the secure survival of which is the main objective of Project Tiger, an Indian wildlife protection initiative.

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The Forest Research Institute is an institute of the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education and is a premier institution in the field of forestry research in India. It is located at Dehradun in Uttarakhand, and is one of the oldest institutions of its kind. In 1991, it was declared a deemed university by the University Grants Commission. It was found ed in 1878, as the British Imperial Forest School, by Dietrich Brandis. In 1906, it was re-established as the `Imperial Forest Research Institute`, under the British Imperial Forestry Service.

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Bandipur National Park, established in 1973 as a tiger reserve under Project Tiger, is a national park located in the south Indian state of Karnataka. It was once a private hunting reserve for the Maharaja of the Kingdom of Mysore. Bandipur is located in Gun- dlupet taluq of Chamarajanagar district. Together with the adjoining Nagarhole National Park, Mudumalai National Park and Wynad Wildlife Sanctuary, it is part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve totaling 2,183 km2 making it the largest protected area in southern In- dia.

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The minimum area of forests to maintain a good ecological balance has been regarded to be 33%. In- dia lags on this front. The Green India campaign has been announced by the Prime Minister for the affor- estation of 6 million hectares. The current area un- der forests is 23%.

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Daily Weather Map of India is prepared and print- ed at the National Data Centre of India Meteorological Department (IMD) at Pune. Daily weather reports and daily weather maps for India in printed form are avail- able since 1878.

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A Western Disturbance is an extratropical storm originating in the Mediterranean region that brings sudden rain to the northwestern parts of the Indian subcontinent during the winter season. It is a non- monsoonal precipitation pattern driven by the westerlies. Western Disturbances are important for the development of the Rabi crop (wheat).

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The western side of the Western Ghats rise ma- jestically to over 2500 meters above mean sea level to capture the Arabian sea branch of moisture laden southwest monsoon winds. The location of these mountain ranges is such that the South-West Mon- soon that break over the southernmost tip of the pen- insula during the last week of May, block the winds and they steadily rise against the mountain to con- dense rapidly and give copious rains on the western side. Consequently, the eastern side is typically known as the rain shadow region.

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According to Indian Meteorological Department, when the rainfall deficiency for the country as a whole is more than 10% of normal and more than 20% of the country`s area is affected by drought conditions (rainfall deficit), the situation is defined as an all-India drought year.

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