Why is the Konkan coast much wetter than Maharashtra’s interior plateau?

The Konkan coast is significantly wetter than Maharashtra’s interior plateau due to the influence of the Western Ghats, which act as a formidable barrier to the moisture-laden winds of the southwest monsoon.12

As these winds blow eastward from the Arabian Sea, they strike the steep, windward slopes of the Western Ghats. Forced to rise over this highland barrier, the air cools and loses its moisture-bearing capacity, resulting in heavy precipitation along the narrow Konkan coastal plain.134

Conversely, as the air descends on the leeward side of the mountains, it warms and its moisture-bearing capacity increases. This creates a rain shadow effect, which deprives the interior plateau—often referred to as the Desh—of significant rainfall, leaving it with a much drier, semiarid climate compared to the coast.234