GK Test - 22

The correct answer is Humid sub-tropical climate with dry winter (Cwg).

Key Points

Köppen's classification of climate is a widely used system that categorizes the world's climates based on temperature, precipitation, and vegetation patterns.

• As per Köppen's classification of climate, the North-East India region including North Bengal is typically classified as humid subtropical climate (Cwa/Cwb).
• This climate is characterized by hot and humid summers with high rainfall, and mild winters with relatively low rainfall.
• The average temperature in this region ranges from 15°C to 30°C and the average annual rainfall is generally more than 1,500 mm.
• The region is also prone to occasional cyclones and thunderstorms during the monsoon season.

Key Points

• Western Ghats are one of the regions in India where tropical evergreen forests are found.
• The Western Ghats are a mountain range that runs parallel to the western coast of the Indian peninsula.
• This region is known for its rich biodiversity and dense forest cover, which includes tropical evergreen forests.
• The climate of the Western Ghats, characterized by high rainfall and humidity, is conducive to the growth of evergreen forests.
• These forests are home to a variety of flora and fauna, some of which are endemic to the region.

Additional Information

• The Western Ghats are recognized as one of the world’s eight "hottest hotspots" of biological diversity.
• They extend from Gujarat in the north to Tamil Nadu in the south, covering a distance of about 1,600 kilometers.
• The forests of the Western Ghats play a crucial role in regulating the climate and water cycle of the region.
• The area is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, highlighting its importance in terms of natural heritage and conservation.
• Efforts are being made to preserve the unique ecosystems of the Western Ghats through various conservation initiatives.

Monsoon:

• The term ‘monsoon’ is derived from the Arabic word 'mausim', meaning season.
• ​A monsoon is a seasonal change in the direction of the prevailing, or strongest, winds of a region.
• Monsoons cause wet and dry seasons throughout much of the tropics.
• Monsoons are most often associated with the Indian Ocean and the Indian sub-continent.

Key Points

Retreating monsoon:

• Retreating monsoon in India can be experienced in October-November.
• Monsoon winds are retreating gradually and the sudden rise of temperature with October heat.
• Day temperature is high and nights are cool and pleasant. 
• The average minimum temperature falls below 20o C.
• It leads to rainfall over Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telengana.
• Its direction is from northeast to southwest.
• A minor part of the annual rainfall in India is due to this type of monsoon.

Important Points

Rainfall in Tamil Nadu:

• Though most of the country gets rainfall during summers, the coastal areas of Tamil Nadu receive rainfall during winters.
• This is because of the retreating monsoon, which extends from the middle of September to the middle of November. 
• During this period, cyclones originate in the Bay of Bengal, which makes the weather oppressive, causing high humidity.
• These cyclones hit the Tamil Nadu coast after picking moisture from the Indian Ocean and cause rainfall.

Thus, Tamil Nadu receives more rainfall from the winter monsoon than from the summer monsoon.

The correct answer is Laterite Soil.

• Laterite soils are suitable for the cultivation of Rubber, Cinchona, and Arecanut.
• These soils are mostly the end products of weathering.
• These soils mainly contain iron oxide which gave them the red colour.

Key Points

• They are formed under conditions of high temperature and heavy rainfall.
• Heavy rainfall promotes leaching.
• These soils are poor in organic matter, nitrogen, phosphate, and calcium, while iron oxide and potash are in excess.

Important Points

• Karewa is the lacustrine deposit in the Valley of Kashmir.
• These are the flat-topped mounds that border the Kashmir Valley on all sides.
• They are composed of fine silt, clay, sand, and boulder- gravel.
• Karewa soil The word Karewa in Kashmiri means "high ground".
• This term was first used by the 14 later of Godwin-Austin (1859) and Lyatkker (1878) for unconsolidated to semi-consolidated sand-conglomerate sequences.
• These sediments appeared in the form of terraces, plateaus, and hills, and stayed on Paleozoic-Mesozoic sediments in the Kashmir "basin".
• De Terra and Patterson (1939) described these Quaternary sediments in detail for the first time.

Karewa soil is found in Jammu and Kashmir.

Key Points

• The **Loo** is a strong, hot, and dry summer wind that blows across the **northwestern parts of India**.
• It is prevalent in states like **Punjab, Rajasthan, and Haryana** during the summer months.
• **Goa** does not experience the Loo wind because it is located in the **coastal region** and has a different climatic pattern.
• The coastal regions generally have a **moderate climate** due to the influence of the sea, which regulates the temperature.

Additional Information

The **Loo** wind is a significant weather phenomenon in the northwestern parts of India during the summer season. Here are some important details:

The correct answer is Black Soil.

Black Soil.

• The most suitable soil for the production of cotton is Black soil.
• Known as Regur Soil also,
• Also suitable for Sugarcane, Jowar, Tobacco, Wheat, and Rice.
• It is rich in Iron, Magnesium, and Aluminium but deficient in Nitrogen.
• It is found in the Deccan areas of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujrat, Andhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu, and Valley of Godavari and Krishna. 

Alluvial Soil.

• Suitable for Rabi and Kharif crops.
• It is rich in Potash and Lime.
• Mainly found in the plains of Gujrat, Punjab, Haryana, UP, Bihar, and Jharkhand.

Well-Drained Soil.

• Known as Bhangar Soil.
• This soil is rich in Humus.
• Suitable for rice, wheat, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton, jute, maize, oilseeds, vegetables, and fruits.
• Found in Ganga-Yamuna doab and the plains of Sutlej.

Loam Soil

• It is a mixture of Sand, Silt, and clay.
• It has the ability to retain moisture and nutrients.
• It is rich in Potash and Iron content.
• Suitable for Wheat, Rice, Sugarcane, Pulses.
• Found in the Eastern and southern part of Deccan plateau, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and sothern parts of middle Ganga Plains.

Key Points

• Various resources obtained from forests are classified into major and minor forest products:

• Tendu Patta:
  • 17% of the country's production is from Chhattisgarh.

The correct answer is Sundarbans.

Key Points

• The Climate hazards and vulnerability atlas of India shows that Sundarbans is cyclone capital of India.

• Atlas of India was developed by the scientists at Climate Research and Services (CRS) office of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Pune.

• The unique analysis of cyclone return and vulnerability was modeled on the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) technical memorandum regarding the national hurricane risk analysis.

Additional Information

• Around 70% cyclones in the Sundarbans region from 1961-2020 were severe.
• Purba Medinipur in West Bengal had the highest cyclone vulnerability in the country for cyclones of all intensities.
• Baleshwar in Orissa topped the list in terms of vulnerability to severe cyclonic storms.
• IMD launches India’s 1st weather hazard and vulnerability atlas.
• South 24 Parganas was the second-most vulnerable to all cyclones and ranked third in terms of severe cyclonic storms.
• The return period of cyclonic storms in the district was 1.67 years on a scale of 1.5 to 60 years.
• Shorter return periods indicate more frequent cyclones. For severe storms, the return period was 2.61 years. In 2021, the Sunderbans saw two (Yaas and Jawad cyclones) out of the 10 cyclonic disturbances that swept the country.
• Coastal districts of Kendrapara in Orissa, Nellore in Andhra Pradesh, Purba Medinipur in Bengal are also extremely vulnerable to cyclones

• The web atlas is depicted using Geographic Information System (GIS) tools and provides districts maps on hazard events and vulnerability.

Key Points

• From October to December the coast of Tamil Nadu state receives at least half of its roughly 40 inches (1,000 mm) of annual precipitation.
• That rainy extension of the generally dry retreating monsoon is called the northeast, or winter, monsoon.

Additional Information

• Rajasthan receives an average of 414mm between June and September, 38 percent of which comes from July.
• June to September is the famous monsoon season of West Bengal when the city experiences heavy showers, and the temperature comes down although humidity levels rise, with August being the wettest month.
• Monsoon kickstarts in the month of June in the Meghalaya state and continues till October, and Meghalaya's Mawsynram is India's Wettest Place.