In other words, the atmosphere of Calcutta is loaded with moisture in the early morning of this season, and is relatively dry in the afternoon: in the hills again, it is scarcely more humid at sunrise than at 3 p.m. That this dryness of the hills is partly due to elevation, appears from the disproportionately moister state of the atmosphere below the Dunwah pass.
II.—Abstract of the Meteorological observationsctaken in the Soane Valley
(mean elevation 422 feet).
The difference in mean temperature (partly owing to the sun’s more northerly declination) amounts to 2·5° of increase in the Soane valley, above that of the hills. The range of the thermometer from day to day was considerably greater on the hills (though fewer observations were there recorded): it amounted to 17·2° on the hills, and only 12·8° in the valley. The range from the maximum to the minimum of each day amounts to the same in both, above 20°. The extreme variations in temperature too coincide within 1·4°.
The hygrometric state of the atmosphere of the valley differs most decidedly from that of the hills. In the valley dew is constantly formed, which is owing to the amount of moisture in the air, for nocturnal radiation is more powerful on the hills. The sunrise and 9 p.m. observations in the valley, give a mean depression of the dew-point below the air of 12·3°, and those at the upper level of 21·2°, with no dew on the hills and a copious deposit in the valley. The corresponding state of the atmosphere as to saturation is 0·480 on the hills and 0·626 in the valley.
The vegetation of the Soane valley is exposed to a less extreme temperature than that of the hills; the difference between solar and nocturnal radiation amounting here only to 80·5°, and on the hills to 96·5°. There is no material difference in the power of the sun’s rays at the upper and lower levels, as expressed by the blackbulb thermometer, the average rise of which above one placed in the shade, amounted to 48° in both cases, and the maximum occurred about 11 a.m. The decrease of the power of the sun’s rays in the afternoon is much the most rapid in the valley, coinciding with a greater reduction of the elasticity of vapour and of humidity in the atmosphere.
The photometer observations show a greater degree of sun’s light on the hills than below, but there is not at either station a decided relation between the indications of this instrument and the black-bulb thermometer. From observations taken elsewhere, I am inclined to attribute the excess of solar light on the hills to their elevation; for at a far greater elevation I have met with much stronger solar light, in a very damp atmosphere, than I ever experienced in the drier plains of India. In a damp climate the greatest intensity may be expected in the forenoon, when the vapour is diffused near the earth’s surface; in the afternoon the lower strata of atmosphere are drier, but the vapour is condensed into clouds aloft which more effectually obstruct the sun’s rays. On the Birbhoom and Behar hills, where the amount of vapour is so small that the afternoon is but little drier than the forenoon, there is little difference between the solar light at each time. In the Soane valley again, where a great deal of humidity is removed from the earth’s surface and suspended aloft, the obstruction of the sun’s light is very marked.
DUNWAH TO SOANE RIVER, AND UP SOANE TO TURA
| February 10–19th | ||||
| Hour | Sunrise | 9 a.m. | 3 p.m. | 9 p.m. |
| TEMPERATURE Mean Max. Min. Range | 57·6 62·0 53·5 8·5 | 74·0 81·0 63·5 17·5 | 77·6 87·5 71·0 16·5 | 64·5 68·7 60·0 8·7 |
| WET-BULB Mean Max. Depression Min. Depression | 51·7 8·5 3·8 | 59·5 18·5 4·0 | 59·9 26·0 6·8 | 55·5 12·5 2·5 |
| Elasticity of Vapour | 0·352 | 0·382 | 0·357 | 0·370 |
| DEW-POINT Mean Max. Min. Max. Depression Min. Depression | 46·1 53·6 40·6 16·9 7·0 | 48·5 56·7 38·0 33·5 6·8 | 46·4 60·0 36·0 44·2 11·0 | 47·5 55·6 41·0 24·1 4·4 |
| Weight of Vapour in cubic feet | 3·930 | 4·066 | 3·658 | 4·014 |
| SATURATION Mean Max. Min. | ·680 ·787 ·566 | ·460 ·818 ·338 | ·352 ·703 ·237 | ·572 ·860 ·452 |
| Number of observations | 10 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Extreme variations of temperature | 34·0° |
| Extreme variations of relative humidity | ·623 |
| Extreme diff. solar and nocturnal radiation | 80·5° |