A pattern of wind circulation that changes with the season. Also the rainy season in areas with monsoon wind patterns.

A pattern of wind circulation that changes with the season. Also the rainy season in areas with monsoon wind patterns.

• A. Sea Breeze
• B. Precipitation
• C. Monsoon
• D. Storm

Answer: (C)

Seasonal reversal of large-scale winds that brings a rainy season defines a monsoon. This pattern happens because land heats up much more strongly than the adjacent sea in the warm season, causing moist air to rise over the land and drawing air from the sea toward the land; as this moist air rises and cools, heavy rainfall follows—the wet season. In the cooler season, the situation reverses: the land cools, winds shift from land to sea, and rainfall diminishes, creating a dry season. That seasonal shift in wind direction and the associated rain is what makes a monsoon distinct from a daily coastal sea breeze, a general precipitation event, or a single storm.

Seasonal reversal of large-scale winds that brings a rainy season defines a monsoon. This pattern happens because land heats up much more strongly than the adjacent sea in the warm season, causing moist air to rise over the land and drawing air from the sea toward the land; as this moist air rises and cools, heavy rainfall follows—the wet season. In the cooler season, the situation reverses: the land cools, winds shift from land to sea, and rainfall diminishes, creating a dry season. That seasonal shift in wind direction and the associated rain is what makes a monsoon distinct from a daily coastal sea breeze, a general precipitation event, or a single storm.