The following 6 (Six) items consist of two statements, Statement I and Statement II. Examine these two statements carefully and select the correct answer using the code given below : Statement I : Variability of annual rainfall is very high in western part of Rajasthan. Statement II : Average annual rainfall is extremely low in western Rajasthan.
- (a)Both the statements are individually true and Statement II is the correct explanation of Statement I
- (b)Both the statements are individually true but Statement II is not the correct explanation of Statement I
- (c)Statement I is true but Statement II is false
- (d)Statement I is false but Statement II is true
Correct — B, both statements are individually true but Statement II is not the correct explanation of Statement I. Western Rajasthan is the driest tract in India: large parts of it receive under 50 cm of rain in a year, and the NCERT climate chapter records that Jaisalmer rarely gets more than 9 cm, so Statement II is true. That little rain also arrives in a handful of monsoon downpours, and whether the weakening monsoon current reaches the Thar at all differs sharply from one year to the next, so the annual total swings widely about its own mean and Statement I is true as well. The code then asks a second, separate question — does the small average cause the wide swing? It does not. Both facts are joint symptoms of one cause: the region sits at the exhausted far edge of both monsoon branches, with the Aravallis running roughly parallel to the Arabian Sea current instead of standing across it. A low mean keeps company with high variability here rather than producing it, and that is precisely what option (b) records.
- (a)Both the statements are individually true and Statement II is the correct explanation of Statement I — The tempting choice, because dry regions really do tend to show the widest percentage swings in rainfall. But that is a correlation, not a mechanism. Saying the average is low simply restates the aridity; it does not explain why one year brings a burst of showers and the next almost none. The examiner reserves option (a) for pairs where the second statement supplies the cause, and here the two statements share a cause instead.
- (c)Statement I is true but Statement II is false — This would require western Rajasthan's average annual rainfall not to be extremely low, which contradicts every rainfall map of India — the Thar is the country's driest region.
- (d)Statement I is false but Statement II is true — This would make the Thar's rainfall dependable from year to year. It is the opposite: rain-fed cultivation there fails in a large share of years, which is why the region is classed as chronically drought-prone.
Variability of rainfall measures how far a place's annual total departs from its own long-run average, and it is normally expressed as a percentage of that average. Across India variability rises as average rainfall falls, so the wettest belts are also the most dependable and the driest are the least. Western Rajasthan sits at the extreme end of both scales — least rain and least reliable rain.
A statement-pair item is worked in two stages, and candidates lose the mark by skipping the second. First judge each statement on its own, which settles whether the answer lies among options (a) and (b) or among (c) and (d). Only then ask whether the second statement gives the reason for the first. Here both statements survive stage one, so the whole item turns on stage two. The honest tension is that a low mean and a high swing are strongly associated in Indian climatology, which is why many candidates mark (a); the key treats them as two effects of the monsoon's weak reach over the Thar rather than as cause and effect.
- Large parts of western Rajasthan receive under 50 cm of rain a year, and the NCERT climate chapter notes that Jaisalmer rarely gets more than 9 cm.
- The Aravalli range runs roughly parallel to the Arabian Sea branch of the south-west monsoon, so it does not force that current to rise and rain out over western Rajasthan.
- The Bay of Bengal branch arrives over Rajasthan already spent, having shed most of its moisture across the Gangetic plain.
- Almost the entire year's rain in the Thar falls within the three to four months of the south-west monsoon, so a single failed season leaves the year nearly dry.
- Reading 'both statements are true' as automatically meaning option (a) — the code still demands that the second statement be the cause of the first.
- Treating a low average as the reason for a wide year-to-year swing, when both are effects of the same weak monsoon reach.
NDA opens Part B with a run of six statement-pair items in most sessions, and geography supplies several of them, so drill the two-stage habit until it is automatic.
Assertion (A): Bangalore receives much higher average annual rainfall than Mangalore. Reason (R): Bangalore has the benefit of receiving rainfall both from south-west and north-east monsoons.
- (a) Both A and R are individually true and R is the correct explanation of A
- (b) Both A and R are individually true but R is not the correct explanation of A
- (c) A is true but R is false
- (d) A is false but R is true
Answer(d) A is false but R is true
The same two-stage code applied to Indian rainfall, but with the first statement failing — useful for practising the habit of testing each statement separately before asking about causation.
Which of the following are correct with regard to Indian Monsoonal Rainfall ? 1. Largely governed by the topographical features 2. Regional and seasonal variation in the distribution of rainfall 3. Heavy downpour resulting in considerable runoff 4. Beginning and end of rain is regular and on time Select the correct answer using the code given below :
- (a) 1 and 2 only
- (b) 1, 2 and 3
- (c) 3 and 4 only
- (d) 2, 3 and 4
Answer(b) 1, 2 and 3
The same variability idea stated head-on — Indian monsoon rain varies by region and season and does not begin or end on schedule, which is why the Thar's annual totals swing so widely.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which one of the following regions of India records the lowest average annual rainfall?
- (a)Western Rajasthan
- (b)Coastal Karnataka
- (c)The Khasi hills of Meghalaya
- (d)Sub-Himalayan West Bengal
Answer(a) Western Rajasthan — the Thar receives under 50 cm a year, while the other three lie in India's high-rainfall belts.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Arabian Sea branch of the south-west monsoon gives western Rajasthan very little rain mainly because
- (a)the Aravalli range lies roughly parallel to the direction of that current
- (b)the branch has already been blocked by the Western Ghats
- (c)western Rajasthan lies outside the path of the monsoon altogether
- (d)the region is too far north for any monsoon current to reach
Answer(a) the Aravalli range lies roughly parallel to the direction of that current — a barrier across the wind would force it to rise and rain, but a parallel ridge does not.