Combined Research questions + answer

Research question (combined with 3 of the other 10 research questions that I had)

How do monsoons benefit communities, how do they put them in danger and how do they affect the people of India? How do people celebrate monsoons?

Answer: Monsoons affect communities in many different ways. They can both benefit communities and put them in danger. The benefits of monsoon rain are immense - they provide water for a country whose dry, arid climate destroys and dries out the water supply. In the hotter and drier months of the year in India, people are sometimes forced to travel by foot for miles just to get clean water for their families. Some just collapse from heat stroke and lack of energy. The monsoons change this - the water from the monsoon rain saves lives. But, in spite of all of the benefits, the monsoons can put communities in danger. The winds can knock down trees and even do some damage to people's houses or buildings - windows may be broken and trees may fall on houses. The floods also cause people serious problems. People may be walking down the street, wading through waist-deep water. The floods from the extreme rain can spread bacteria as well. The dirty water that hundreds of other people have been wading through can be a good breeding ground for harmful bacteria and it helps spread deadly diseases. Mosquitoes breed in water, so there might be an over-population of mosquitoes that can carry diseases, as well. Despite the dangers that monsoons bring, they can still provide clean drinking water. With all of the benefits that they bring to India, they still have disadvantages - but the monsoon is actually looked forward to in Indian communities. All the good that the monsoons do for them has caused the people of India to create holidays, festivals and other celebrations to welcome the monsoon season. Some of the celebrations that the people of India have are called Teej and Adiperukku. Teej celebrates the onset of the monsoon season, and all of the good that it brings to the people of India. Adiperukku, which is a different type of celebration, is meant to celebrate the life-giving water that the monsoon season brings. Those are just two of the many festivals that the people of India celebrate to welcome in the sacred monsoon season. The seasonal changes in weather are so important to the people of India, the agriculture and the animals, that their lives depend on monsoons. Although monsoons are generally the most severe in India, there are still many other places in the world that experience the pouring rain and the damaging winds of monsoons - mostly countries in southern Asia, like India.

Bibliography

Most of this information was found in:

Geography Alive book

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsoon

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_India

http://www.ipsnews.org/news.asp?idnews=46131