Chapter 12: South Asia

1. Chapter 12: South Asia Environmental Geography

2. South Asia Reference

3. South Asia • South Asia is a land of political tensions • Tensions between India and Pakistan • Growing population • South Asia could soon surpass East Asia in population • One of the poorest regions on Earth • Not well-connected to the globalized world • Slow economic growth and inward orientation

4. Environmental Geography: Diverse Landscapes, from Tropical Islands to Mountain Rim • Environmental Issues in South Asia • 1984 explosion at Bhopal fertilizer plant • Natural Hazards in Bangladesh • Flooding in the Ganges and Brahmaputra river deltas

5. Ganges Delta – largest

6. Dhaka flooding 2004

7. Environmental Issues • Cyclones (hurricanes) – mostly Bangladesh • Delta at sea level • Clobbered by cyclones • 60 since 1900 • 1991 – “The Big One” – • 140,000 dead • 150 mph wind 20 ft. wave Factor in poverty cycle

8. Bangladesh cyclone

9. Bangladesh cyclone damage -1991

10. Bangladesh cyclone damage 1991 – rice paddies

11. Bangladesh cyclone damage 1991 –back flips off water buffalo

12. Bangladesh cyclone damage

13. Recent monsoons in India… • Sept. 2011 – 50 people died in monsoon related flooding… • September 2005 - • http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4727763.stm

14. Environmental issues • Forests and Deforestation • Historically, Ganges Valley and coastal plains of India deforested for agriculture • Deforestation (agricultural, urban, and industrial expansion, RR) • Fuel wood shortage (dung)

15. Environmental Geography: Diverse Landscapes, from Tropical Islands to Mountain Rim (cont.) • Environmental Issues in South Asia (cont.) • Forests and Deforestation (cont.) • Chipko movement – started as a women’s protest movement against deforestation and now has spread throughout many Himalayan villages

16. Environmental Issues • Wildlife: Extinction and Protection • Region has managed to maintain a diverse wildlife population • Increasing population pressure in wildlife habitats

17. Indian Tiger -200 people killed/injured in 5 year period

18. The Four Subregions of South Asia • 1) Mountains of the North • Collision of Indian Subcontinent with Eurasian landmass • 200 million years ago • Himalayan Range and others • Still moving (plate tectonics) – 1 inch a year • Earthquake zone

19. Himalayas • India, Nepal and Bhutan • 1500 miles long • “Home of the Gods” • 24 peaks over 25,000 ft. • Mt.Everest (29,028 ft.)

20. Everest

21. 1953 –NepalSir Edmund Hillary & Tenzing Norgay climb Everest

22. South Asia Physical

23. The Four Subregions of South Asia (cont.) • 2) Indus-Ganges-Brahmaputra Lowlands • Large lowlands created by three major river systems • Indus – longest , 1800 miles- cultural hearth • Brahmaputra -1700 miles, delta mostly densely populated in world, fertile land, • Ganges – 1500 miles, transportation system, densely populated, • Holy river for Hindus

24. Ganges River

25. 3) Peninsular India • Deccan Plateau • Makes up most of peninsular India • Western Ghats, Eastern Ghats (6,000 ft, to 8,000 ft. high) • 4) The Southern Islands • Sri Lanka • Maldives – chain of more than 1,200 islands, • 75% uninhabited • Only 116 square miles total • 6 ft. highest elevation • Threatened by global warming

26. Deccan Plateau

27. South Asia’s Monsoon Climates • Monsoon – the distinct seasonal change of wind direction, which corresponds with wet and dry periods • Three South Asian seasons: • Warm and rainy season from June to October • Cool and dry season November to February • Hot period from March to late May (120° F) • Drier conditions in Pakistan • Crops depend on Monsoon rains

28. South Asian Monsoon

29. Monsoon pictures

30. Monsoon pictures

31. Monsoon pictures

32. Monsoon pictures

33. Monsoon pictures