Andhra Pradesh lies between 12°41' and 19.07°N latitude and 77° and 84°40'E longitude, and is bordered by Telangana, Chhattisgarh, and Orissa in the north, the Bay of Bengal in the East, Tamil Nadu to the south and Karnataka to the west. Among the other states, which are situated on the country's coastal area, Andhra Pradesh has got a coastline of around 974 km, which gives it the 2nd longest coastline in the nation. Two major rivers, the Godavari and the Krishna run across the state. A small enclave 12 sq mi (30 km²), the Yanam district of Puducherry, lies in the Godavari Delta in the north east of the state. The state includes the eastern part of Deccan plateau as well as a considerable part of the Eastern Ghats. Historically the region comprising the state was known as Andhraapatha, Andhradesa, Andhraavani, and Andhra vishaya.
Climate[]
The climate of Andhra Pradesh is generally hot and humid. The summer season in this state generally extends from March to June. During these months the moisture level is quite high. The coastal areas have higher temperatures than the other parts of the state. In summer, the temperature generally ranges between 20 °C and 40 °C. At certain places the temperature is as high as 45 degrees on a summer day.
The summer is followed by the monsoon season, which starts during June and continues till September. This is the season for heavy tropical rains in Andhra Pradesh. The major role in determining the climate of the state is played by South-West Monsoons. About one third of the total rainfall in Andhra Pradesh is brought by the North-East Monsoons around the month of October in the state. The winters in Andhra Pradesh are pleasant. This is the time when the state attracts most of its tourists. October to February are the winter months in Andhra Pradesh. Since the state has quite a long coastline, the winters are comparatively mild. The temperature in winter raises from 13 °C to 30 °C. Locals and tourists generally find that cotton summer clothes are best suited to coping with the climate of Andhra Pradesh.
Divisions[]
Andhra Pradesh can be divided into two regions, namely Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema. Andhra Pradesh has 13 districts: Anantapur, Chittoor, Kadapa, East Godavari, Guntur, Krishna, Kurnool, Sri Potti Sreeramulu Nellore, Prakasam, Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and West Godavari.
Anantapur is the largest district of the state and the 7th largest district in India with an area of 19130 km2. Each district is divided into multiple mandals, and each mandal has many villages. Visakhapatnam is the largest city in the state followed by Vijayawada. Other important cities and towns are Kakinada, Guntur, Rajahmundry, Tirupati, Nellore, Ongole, Kurnool and Eluru.
New Capital[]
After Telangana was created on 2 June, 2014, Andhra Pradesh's erstwhile capital Hyderabad remained in Telangana. Although Hyderabad was set to remain the joint capital of both states for ten years, the new capital is being built at Amaravati.
Natural Vegetation[]
The Andhra Pradesh Forest Department deals with protection, conservation and management of forests. The total forest cover of the state after the bifurcation is left with an area of 22,862 km2. The forest in the state can be broadly divided into four major biotic provinces. They are:
- Deccan Plateau
- Central Plateau
- Eastern Highland
- East Coastal Plains
Eastern Ghats region is home to dense tropical forests, while the vegetation becomes sparse as the Ghats give way to the Deccan Plateau, where shrub vegetation is more common. The vegetation found in the state is largely of dry deciduous types with a mixture of teak, Terminalia, Dalbergia, Pterocarpus, Anogeissus, etc.
The state has many sanctuaries, national parks and zoological parks, such as Coringa, Krishna Wildlife Sanctuary, Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve, Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary, Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park and Indira Gandhi Zoological Park. Atapaka Bird Sanctuary, Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary and Pulicat Lake Bird Sanctuary attract many migratory birds.[89] The state possesses some rare and endemic plants like Cycas beddomei, Pterocarpus santalinus, Terminalia pallida, Syzygium alternifolium, Shorea talura, Shorea tumburgia, Psilotum nudum, etc.[88] The diversity of fauna includes tigers, panthers, hyenas, black bucks, cheetals, sambars, sea turtles and a number of birds and reptiles. The estuaries of the Godavari and Krishna Rivers support rich mangrove forests with fishing cats and otters as keystone species.
Climate[]
The climate of Andhra Pradesh varies considerably, depending on the geographical region. Summers last from March to June. In the coastal plain, the summer temperatures are generally higher than the rest of the state, with temperature ranging between 20 °C and 41 °C. July to September is the season for tropical rains. About one-third of the total rainfall is brought by the northeast monsoon. October and November see low-pressure systems and tropical cyclones form in the Bay of Bengal which, along with the northeast monsoon, bring rains to the southern and coastal regions of the state.
November, December, January, and February are the winter months in Andhra Pradesh. Since the state has a long coastal belt the winters are not very cold. The range of winter temperature is generally 12 °C to 30 °C. Lambasingi in Visakhapatnam district is the only place in South India which receives snowfall because of its location as at 1,000 m (3,300 ft) above the sea level. It is also nicknamed as the "Kashmir of Andhra Pradesh" and the temperature ranges from 0 °C to 10 °C.