Meteorological Sub-divisions of India 2020

India has been divided into 36 subdivisions by Indian Meteorological Department on the basis of meteorological data and also considering practical applicability.

For reasons of practical convenience, compilation of statistics, issue of weather warnings to government functionaries and informing the general public, the sub-divisional boundaries were always made to conform at least to the jurisdiction of basic revenue districts.

R. R. Kelkar and O. P. Sreejith (2020), IMD Pune

This process was undertaken as -

• Large states with varying climate were divided into smaller divisions on meteorological grounds.
• Small states and Union Territories with similar meteorological climate were combined together.
• Finally, IMD gave names to those sub-divisions that did not follow existing political subdivisions.

To simplify for understanding, the 36 meteorological subdivisions of India can be classified as-

Criteria of sub-divisions	Number of subdivisions	States
Named after the state	9 subdivisions	o  Arunachal Pradesh, o  Odisha, o  Jharkhand, o  Bihar, o  Uttarakhand, o  Punjab, o  Himachal Pradesh, o  Chattisgarh, o  Telangana.
Group of smaller states or UTs - States and UTs with small area and similar climate	6 sub-divisions	o  Assam and Meghalaya, o  Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura, o  Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi, o  Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, o  Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal, o  Kerala and Mahe.
Larger states divided into two	12 sub-divisions	o  East Rajasthan, o  West Rajasthan, o  East Uttar Pradesh, o  West Uttar Pradesh, o  East Madhya Pradesh o  West Madhya Pradesh. o  Gujarat Region o  Saurashtra and Kutch. o  Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim o  Gangetic West Bengal. o  Rayalaseema, o  Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam.
Larger states divided into three  and more than 3 - Larger states which have a greater variation in climate	7 sub-divisions	o Karnataka, o North Interior Karnataka   o South Interior Karnataka o Konkan and Goa, o Madhya Maharashtra, o Marathwada, o Vidarbha.
Islands	2 sub-divisions	o Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal o Lakshadweep islands in the Arabian Sea.

To further understand the history of Meteorological sub-divisions of India, refer to this research article by R. R. Kelkar and O. P. Sreejith (2020),

Reference –

IMD website, India Meteorological Department, Ministry of earth Sciences, Government of India. Accessed on 24/12/2020. https://mausam.imd.gov.in/

Map Data Source – Meteorological Subdivisions map, IMD website, India Meteorological Department, Ministry of earth Sciences, Government of India. Accessed on 24/12/2020. https://mausam.imd.gov.in/imd_latest/contents/index_rainfall_subdiv.php

R. R. Kelkar and O. P. Sreejith, (2020). Meteorological sub-divisions of India and their geopolitical evolution from 1875 to 2020. Mausam, 71, 4 (October 2020), 571-584. https://metnet.imd.gov.in/imdmausam/