Daily Static Quiz Prelims Practice 2027
IMD revised the normal date of withdrawal from West Rajasthan to 17 September (earlier 1 September), and the monsoon withdraws from the whole country by about 15 October. Gujarat, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh lie on or beyond the retreat path and are covered only after withdrawal has begun from West Rajasthan. IMD also revised the date of monsoon coverage of the entire country to 8 July (earlier 15 July) — revised dates are a favourite source of questions.
- El Niño involves warming of sea surface waters in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific and is generally associated with a weaker Indian summer monsoon.
- A positive Indian Ocean Dipole, with warmer waters in the western Indian Ocean than in the east, can offset the adverse impact of El Niño on the Indian monsoon.
- During an El Niño event, the Southern Oscillation Index typically turns strongly positive.
Statement 1 is correct — El Niño weakens the Walker circulation and typically reduces rainfall over India. Statement 2 is correct — a positive IOD (warm west, cool east) favours monsoon rainfall, which is why the monsoon was normal in 1997 despite a strong El Niño. Statement 3 is incorrect — the Southern Oscillation Index (Tahiti minus Darwin pressure) turns negative during El Niño and positive during La Niña, a classic reversal trap.
- Assertion (A): Tamil Nadu receives the major share of its annual rainfall during the southwest monsoon season (June–September).
- Reason (R): The Bay of Bengal branch of the southwest monsoon flows parallel to the Coromandel Coast, and the Western Ghats cast a rain shadow over the Tamil Nadu plains.
A is incorrect — the Coromandel Coast gets its largest share of rain from the northeast (retreating) monsoon in October–December, when moisture-laden winds blow in from the Bay of Bengal. R is correct — the Arabian Sea branch drops its moisture on the windward Western Ghats and the Bay of Bengal branch runs parallel to the coast, both keeping Tamil Nadu relatively dry in summer. R actually contradicts A rather than supporting it, so read carefully before choosing (a).
- Mango showers — Kerala and coastal Karnataka
- Kal Baisakhi — West Bengal
- Loo — Northern and north-western plains
- Bardoli Chheerha — Odisha
Pairs 1, 2 and 3 are correct — mango showers are pre-monsoon showers (April–May) that help ripen mangoes, Kal Baisakhi is the violent evening nor’wester of Bengal in the month of Baisakh, and the Loo is a hot, dry, gusty wind of May–June over the northern plains. Pair 4 is incorrect — Bardoli Chheerha is the nor’wester of Assam, not Odisha.
- Mumbai
- Kolkata
- Delhi
- Thiruvananthapuram
The correct sequence is Thiruvananthapuram (1 June) → Kolkata (about 5 June) → Mumbai (11 June) → Delhi (27 June). The Bay of Bengal branch reaches the north-east and Kolkata ahead of the Arabian Sea branch’s arrival at Mumbai, which is why options (a) and (d), placing Mumbai before Kolkata, are the trap. Delhi comes last because the two branches merge over the Ganga plain before advancing north-west.
