Q20. Which Indian region receives particularly heavy rainfall from the southwest monsoon?
[RRB Group D (23 August 2022, Shift 3)]
(A) Western Ghats
(B) Gangetic Plains
(C) Central Plateau
(D) Eastern Ghats
Answer: (A) Western Ghats
Explanation: The Western Ghats force moisture-laden Arabian Sea monsoon winds to rise rapidly, resulting in heavy orographic rain along their western slopes. Much of the interior Deccan Plateau receives less precipitation after the air crosses the mountain barrier.
Q19. Blossom showers are associated with which state?
[RSMSSB Lab Assistant (30 June 2022)]
(A) Kerala
(B) Tamil Nadu
(C) Odisha
(D) West Bengal
Answer: (A) Kerala
Explanation: Blossom showers are pre-monsoon rains especially associated with Kerala and adjacent southwestern India. They help flowering and growth of crops such as coffee. They occur before the full southwest monsoon and differ from eastern Kalbaisakhi thunderstorms.
Q18. Under Thornthwaite’s classification, what climate class includes Jaisalmer?
[RSMSSB Lab Assistant (28 June 2022)]
(A) DB’w
(B) EA’d
(C) CA’w
(D) DA’w
Answer: (B) EA’d
Explanation: Jaisalmer lies within the Thar Desert and has a strongly arid climatic regime, with low annual rainfall and a high moisture deficit. The cited Thornthwaite classification places it in EA’d rather than the comparatively more humid alternatives.
Q17. Which claim about Madhya Pradesh climate is incorrect?
[MPPSC State Service Prelims 2021 GS Paper I (19 June 2022)]
(A) Tropic of Cancer crosses the state
(B) Gwalior has hot subtropical summers
(C) Both monsoon branches affect the state
(D) Only about 50% of state rainfall comes from southwest monsoon
Answer: (D) Only about 50% of state rainfall comes from southwest monsoon
Explanation: Madhya Pradesh depends much more heavily than fifty percent on southwest monsoon rainfall. Its central location exposes it to influences of both Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal branches. The Tropic of Cancer and continental location also shape temperatures.
Q16. Which system causes winter rainfall in northwestern India?
[UPPSC PCS General Studies Paper I (24 October 2021)]
(A) Retreating depression
(B) Cyclonic depression
(C) Western disturbances
(D) Southwest monsoon
Answer: (C) Western disturbances
Explanation: Western disturbances are eastward-moving extratropical systems that generate winter rain in Punjab, Haryana and surrounding areas. They also bring snowfall to western Himalayan ranges. The southwest monsoon instead accounts for the principal summer rainy season.
Q15. In which city is August rainfall variability likely to be the greatest?
[WBCS Preliminary (22 August 2021)]
(A) Kolkata
(B) Ranchi
(C) Jodhpur
(D) Lucknow
Answer: (C) Jodhpur
Explanation: Jodhpur lies in arid western Rajasthan, where summer rainfall totals are lower and more erratic than in humid eastern cities. Relative rainfall variability is generally larger where average precipitation is scanty and the monsoon is less reliable.
Q14. Monsoon rainfall in India is mainly brought by winds from which direction?
[UPPSC RO/ARO General Studies (20 September 2020)]
(A) South-West
(B) South-East
(C) North-East
(D) North-West
Answer: (A) South-West
Explanation: The summer rain-bearing monsoon consists mainly of southwesterly winds crossing from ocean toward land. They arrive from the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal branches. Northeasterly winds are associated chiefly with winter and the retreating monsoon.
Q13. Which wind causes most rainfall in Chhattisgarh?
[CGPSC Civil Service Prelims GS Paper I (2020)]
(A) Northwest monsoon
(B) Southwest monsoon
(C) Northeast monsoon
(D) Southeast monsoon
Answer: (B) Southwest monsoon
Explanation: Chhattisgarh receives most of its rainfall from the southwest monsoon during summer. Bay of Bengal moisture and inland monsoon systems strongly influence the region. Northeast monsoon winds chiefly support post-summer rainfall along southeastern coastal India.
Q12. Regarding Ocean Mean Temperature (OMT), which statements are correct?
(1) It is measured to a 26°C isotherm depth of 129 m in the southwestern Indian Ocean during January–March.
(2) January–March OMT helps assess whether monsoon rainfall will exceed or fall below the long-term mean.
[UPSC Civil Services Prelims GS Paper I (2020)]
(A) Statement 1 only
(B) Statement 2 only
(C) Both statements
(D) Neither statement
Answer: (B) Statement 2 only
Explanation: Ocean Mean Temperature reflects upper-ocean thermal conditions relevant to predicting monsoon variability. Statement 1 gives an incorrect fixed depth; the 26°C isotherm is not at 129 metres as claimed. Statement 2 correctly identifies OMT as a rainfall predictor.
Q11. Winter rain caused by western disturbances across northwest India generally decreases from which direction to which?
[UPPSC Civil Service Prelims Paper I (2019)]
(A) East to West
(B) West to East
(C) North to South
(D) South to North
Answer: (B) West to East
Explanation: Western disturbances generally approach the subcontinent from the west and lose moisture as they travel eastward across the plains. Accordingly, their winter precipitation commonly decreases from west to east. The rain is distinct from the summer monsoon.
