The dry climate group consists of regions where the rate of evaporation of water is higher than the rate of moisture received through precipitation. This kind of climatic condition is classified into two climate types, namely tropical semi-arid steppe climate and tropical and sub-tropical steppe.

Tropical semi-arid steppe climate is experienced by a long stretch of land situated to the south of Tropic of Cancer and east of the Western Ghats and the Cardamom Hills. It includes the states of Karnataka, interior Tamil Nadu, western Andhra Pradesh and central Maharashtra. These regions are prone to famines with very unreliable rainfall, which varies between 40 to 75 cm annually. Towards the north of Krishna River the summer monsoon is highly responsible for most of the rainfall, while the southern regions of the river experiences rainfall during the months of October and November. The coldest month in these areas is December but even in this month the temperature remains between 20°C and 24°C. The months of March to May are extremely hot and dry with average monthly temperatures of around 32°C. The vegetation mostly consists of grasses with a few speckled trees due to the rainfall. Hence this area is not appropriate for permanent agriculture.

The region, which experiences tropical and sub-tropical steppe lie towards the east of the tropical desert running from Punjab and Haryana to Kathiawar, experiences this climate type. This climate is a transitional climate falling between tropical desert and humid sub-tropical, with temperatures, which are less extreme than the desert climate. The annual rainfall is between 30 to 65 cm but is very unpredictable and happens mostly during the summer monsoon season. Maximum temperatures during summer can rise upto 40°C. The vegetation mostly consists of short coarse grass. Some crops like jowar and bajra are also cultivated in these regions.

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