Pauri Garhwal District has a sub-temperate to temperate climate, which remains pleasant throughout the year. The maximum temperature recorded in the month of June is 45 degree Celsius at Kotdwara while in the higher reaches at Doodhatoli it only rises to 25 degree Celsius. Temperature descends to a minimum of 1.3 degree Celsius in January and mean monthly temperature for the region ranges from 25 degree Celsius to 30 degree Celsius. The hilly terrain of the district with its densely forested slopes receives adequate rainfall generally commencing from mid-June and extending till mid-September. Occasional rainfall is also recorded in winter. Average annual rainfall in the district is 218 cm, about 90 percent of which is generally concentrated over the monsoon. Relative humidity varies between 54 percent and 63 percent. The higher reaches receive some snow in winter when temperature falls to freezing point. Pauri Garhwal District as part of the Western Himalayas presents a unique set of ecological characteristics over a complex variety of systems that incorporate forests, meadows, savannah grasslands, marshes and rivers, as well as wildlife, geology and several other phyto-geographically distinctive peculiarities. The occurrence of diverse topographical and climatic factors has resulted in the remarkable biodiversity of Pauri Garhwal District as a result of which flora also correspondingly differs over its different parts. Forests dominate in the phyto-geography and also constitute the most valuable natural resource of the district. Besides Alaknanda River, Nayyar River is the other major river of the district and is one of the major tributaries of Alaknanda. Soils of the region have been formed either through pedo-genetic processes or are transported soils. |