Abstract:
In the present study, an investigation has been made to study the spatial and temporal
variability in the maximum, the minimum and the mean air temperatures at Madhya
Pradesh (MP), in central India on monthly, annual and seasonal time scale from 1901 to
2002. Further, impact of urbanization and cloud cover on air temperature has been
studied. The annual mean, maximum and minimum temperatures are increased by 0.60,
0.60 and 0.62 8C over the past 102 years, respectively. Seasonally, the warming is more
pronounced during winter than summer. The temperature decreased during the less
urbanized period (from 1901 to 1951) and increased during the more urbanized period
(1961 to 2001). It is also found that the minimum temperature increased at higher rate
(0.42 8C) followed by the mean (0.36 8C) and the maximum (0.32 8C) temperature during
the more urbanized period. Furthermore, cloud cover is significantly negatively related
with air temperature in monsoon season and as a whole of the year.
