From the following, which cyclone struck the western coast of India in the year 2021?
- (a)Amphan
- (b)Tauktae
- (c)Michaung
- (d)Fani
Correct — B, Tauktae. Cyclone Tauktae was a very severe cyclonic storm that formed over the Arabian Sea and moved up India's west coast — brushing past Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra before making landfall in Gujarat — in May 2021, matching both the year and the coast named in this question.
- (a)Amphan — A super cyclonic storm of May 2020 (not 2021) that struck the eastern coast (West Bengal/Odisha, Bay of Bengal) — wrong year and wrong coast.
- (c)Michaung — A severe cyclonic storm of December 2023 (not 2021) that struck the eastern coast (Andhra Pradesh, Bay of Bengal) — wrong year and wrong coast.
- (d)Fani — An extremely severe cyclonic storm of May 2019 (not 2021) that struck the eastern coast (Odisha, Bay of Bengal) — wrong year and wrong coast.
India is flanked by two cyclone-prone seas — the Bay of Bengal on the east coast, which sees more frequent and often more severe storms, and the Arabian Sea on the west coast, historically quieter but increasingly active in recent years. Cyclone Tauktae (May 2021) was one of the strongest storms to hit India's west coast in decades.
The trap is defaulting to a Bay-of-Bengal cyclone (more numerous and more often in the news) when a question specifically names the west coast/Arabian Sea — always check both the year and the coast together.
- Cyclone Tauktae (May 2021) — formed over the Arabian Sea, struck India's west coast, made landfall in Gujarat.
- Cyclone Amphan (May 2020) and Cyclone Fani (May 2019) — Bay of Bengal storms that struck the east coast (West Bengal/Odisha).
- Cyclone Michaung (December 2023) — a Bay of Bengal storm that struck the east coast (Andhra Pradesh).
- Tropical cyclones of the North Indian Ocean are named under a regional rotational naming system involving India and neighbouring countries.
Tauktae is the only 2021, west-coast cyclone among the four options.
- Defaulting to a Bay-of-Bengal cyclone when the question specifically asks about the west coast/Arabian Sea
- Mixing up the year of similarly-timed named cyclones — always pin the exact year, not just the season
MPPSC/UPSC test current-affairs cyclone facts by pinning down BOTH the year and the coast/sea of formation — treat them as a linked pair, not separate facts.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Cyclone Tauktae (2021), which struck India's west coast, originated over which sea?
- (a)Bay of Bengal
- (b)Arabian Sea
- (c)Andaman Sea
- (d)South China Sea
Answer(b) Arabian Sea.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Cyclone Fani, an extremely severe cyclonic storm from the Bay of Bengal, made landfall on India's east coast in May 2019 in which state?
- (a)Odisha
- (b)Andhra Pradesh
- (c)West Bengal
- (d)Tamil Nadu
Answer(a) Odisha, near Puri.