As clouds consist of air in a state of saturation, their prevalence will vary according to the relative humidity of the higher strata of the atmosphere. Consequently, there will be two annual periods of maximum and two of minimum cloudiness, corresponding with the periods of maximum and of minimum proportion of water vapour; but the second maximum during the winter monsoon is of very much less importance than the maximum of the summer monsoon. During the dry season, when the land winds from the north-west prevail, the clouds are at a minimum; but when the sea breezes blow up from the west and south-west, the cloudy season begins, and reaches a maximum in June and July. Owing to the obstacle of the Western Ghats which have to be first surmounted, and the dynamic heating which the clouds undergo in their gradual descent over the lower plateaus, the break created by the monsoon is not so striking over the greater portion of the district as it is in the extreme northern parts, where the monsoon currents blow up the Tapti valley, and the dry season is suddenly succeeded by one of high relative humidity. Cloud obscuration and humidity have also an influence in reducing the range of temperature, and in slightly lowering the mean temperature of the atmosphere. In the dry months, when the clouds are at a minimum, the air is loaded with dust, which absorbs heat as well as light, and constitutes a haze and glare extending up to great heights. This heated dust no doubt contributes much to the high temperature of the hills during the dry season, as compared with the plains.