CLIMATE

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intolerable than it is in Jacobabad, where it is modified to
a certain extent by a well-developed growth of trees and a
considerable extent of irrigated cultivation. Farther west,
throughout the low valleys of Makran as far as the Persian
border, the heat of summer is also extreme—so much so
that on the Persian border it is maintained locally that an
egg may be cooked on the open ground under a summer
sky. Here, however, there is practically no cold weather
whatever. In Sind and throughout the Punjab there is a
winter which extends through a greater or less period
according to the latitude, and which does much (especially
in the Punjab, where there are eight cool months in the
year) to modify the effects of the exceptional heat of
summer. The climate of the Punjab, where the extremes
of temperature range far apart (if not so far as in Sind),
is a possible one for continued European existence; and
although statistics show a greater mortality amongst
Europeans in the Punjab than in other parts of the Indian
empire, it is on the whole a popular province for residence
 on account of the long cold weather.
Throughout the north-west the winter climate is as
nearly perfect as climate can be. Bracing, without any
bitterness of cold, bright and clear, it forms one of the
great charms of Indian existence, and even when the fierce
heat of early summer has passed and the monsoon rains
succeed, it is by no means unendurable. Farther south,
as we reach the tropical area, the average temperature
increases ; but the variation diminishes, and with this
diminished variation there is no doubt diminished risk
of many of those ills which are the bane of Anglo-Indian
existence. Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras all possess the
equable climate that is induced by proximity to the sea.
Calcutta, however, enjoys a distinct period of cold weather
which is not to be found in the other Presidency towns.
The average temperature of the air in shade at Bombay
is about 80° F., and at Madras somewhat higher ; but
the damp enervating atmosphere of these low-lying coast
ports enhances the effects of the recorded heat, and the
result of long residence in the south of India is un-