Match List–I with List–II and select the correct answer using the code given below the Lists : List–I (Koppen's Climatic Type) A. Tropical wet B. Mid-latitude desert C. Mediterranean D. Humid continental List–II (Letter Code) 1. Af 2. Cs 3. Df 4. BWk Code : A B C D
- (a)1 4 2 3
- (b)1 2 4 3
- (c)3 2 4 1
- (d)3 4 2 1
Correct — A, the code 1 4 2 3. The Köppen letters are read from left to right, and each position carries its own meaning. Tropical wet is Af, item 1: the capital A marks the tropical group, and the small f, from the German feucht, means there is no dry season, every month receiving at least 60 mm of rain. Mid-latitude desert is BWk, item 4: B is the dry group, W marks a true desert rather than a semi-arid steppe, and k stands for kalt, a cold-winter desert of the middle latitudes rather than a hot subtropical one. Mediterranean is Cs, item 2: C is the warm temperate group and s, from sommertrocken, means the dry season falls in summer, which is the defining Mediterranean trait. Humid continental is Df, item 3: D is the cold snow-forest group, with at least one month below 0 °C and one above 10 °C, and f again means no dry season.
- (b)1 2 4 3 — It gets the two f climates right at either end but swaps the middle pair, handing Cs to the mid-latitude desert and BWk to the Mediterranean. A desert cannot be a C climate at all, because C denotes a warm temperate humid group, and the dry climates have their own letter, B.
- (c)3 2 4 1 — Every pair is wrong. It makes the tropical wet climate a D type, which requires a month below freezing, and the humid continental climate an A type, which requires every month above 18 °C — two impossibilities in the same code.
- (d)3 4 2 1 — The desert and the Mediterranean are placed correctly, but the two humid, no-dry-season climates at the ends have been exchanged. Af is equatorial and hot all year; Df has a cold winter, so the pair cannot be reversed.
The Köppen scheme classifies climate by temperature and rainfall using a short letter code. The first capital gives the broad group — A tropical, B dry, C warm temperate, D cold snow-forest, E polar. The second letter describes the rainfall regime — f for no dry season, s for a dry summer, w for a dry winter, and within the B group W for desert and S for steppe. A third letter, where used, refines temperature, with a for hot summers, b for warm ones and k for cold winters.
Cracking a code match of this sort is a matter of eliminating on the first letter alone. Of the four climate names, exactly one is a desert, so it must take the only B code on the list, and that single pairing knocks out options (b) and (c) immediately. Between the two survivors the question becomes whether tropical wet is Af or Df, and since D climates require a month below freezing, the tropics cannot qualify. One printing note is worth making: the paper prints 'Koppen' without the umlaut over the o, whereas the climatologist's name is Köppen — a typographical slip that has no effect on the answer. As a caution for later study, the Köppen table that once appeared in NCERT's Class 11 physical geography chapter has been dropped from the rationalised edition, so the letter codes now have to be learnt from the classification itself.
- Af is the tropical rainforest or tropical wet type, in which all twelve months receive at least 60 mm of precipitation.
- A Cs climate has at least three times as much rain in the wettest winter month as in the driest summer month, which is the Mediterranean signature.
- D climates have at least one month averaging below 0 °C and at least one above 10 °C; the f means no dry season.
- In the B group, W marks a desert and S a steppe, while the added k stands for a cold-winter, mid-latitude version.
The first letter fixes the group and the second the rainfall regime, which is enough to settle all four pairs.
- Reading the second letter of BWk as a rainfall letter; within the dry group W and S describe degree of aridity, not seasonality.
- Confusing s for summer rain; s marks a dry summer, and w marks a dry winter.
- Assuming any hot climate must be an A type, when the hot deserts are B climates regardless of temperature.
Asked as a four-pair code match where identifying the single dry-group climate eliminates half the options at once.
A geographic region has the following distinct characteristics: 1. Warm and dry climate 2. Mild and wet winter 3. Evergreen oak trees. The above features are the distinct characteristics of which one of the following regions?
- (a) Mediterranean
- (b) Eastern China
- (c) Central Asia
- (d) Atlantic coast of North America
Answer(a) Mediterranean
Describes the Cs climate in words rather than in code — dry summer, wet mild winter, sclerophyllous evergreen vegetation. Recognising that description is what makes the Cs pairing obvious.
According to Koppen's climatic classifications, the Great Northern Plains of India have which one of the following climates ?
- (a) Aw climate
- (b) Cwg climate
- (c) Amw climate
- (d) Dfc climate
Answer(b) Cwg climate
The same code system applied to India, where the C group and the w for a dry winter both have to be read correctly. It is the natural next step once the four world types here are secure.
Which of the following statements concerning Mediterranean climatic region are correct ? 1. It is found in the latitude range 30° to 45° northern and southern hemisphere 2. Mediterranean climate experiences extreme temperature conditions 3. In Mediterranean climate, rainfall occurs mainly during summer season 4. In Mediterranean climate, rainfall is mainly due to Westerlies Select the correct answer using the code given below :
- (a) 1, 2 and 4
- (b) 1 and 4 only
- (c) 1, 2 and 3
- (d) 3 and 4
Answer(b) 1 and 4 only
Fills in what the Cs code stands for on the ground — the 30 to 45 degree west-coast belt, moderate rather than extreme temperatures, and an orchard economy built on citrus.
- practice — not a real PYQ
In the Köppen classification, the letter 'w' as the second letter of a code indicates
- (a)a dry winter
- (b)a dry summer
- (c)no dry season
- (d)a desert climate
Answer(a) a dry winter — s marks a dry summer, f no dry season, and W within the B group marks a desert.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which one of the following Köppen codes denotes a cold semi-arid or steppe climate?
- (a)BWh
- (b)BSk
- (c)Csb
- (d)Dfb
Answer(b) BSk — B is the dry group, S marks steppe rather than desert, and k indicates cold winters.