As per Koeppen’s climate classification, which among the following are correctly matched? (A) Cwg - Bharatpur (B) Bwhw - Barmer (C) Bshw - Ganganagar (D) Aw - Dungarpur
- (1)(A), (C), and (D)
- (2)(B), (C) and (D)
- (3)(B) and (C)
- (4)(A) and (D)
Answer
Why
Correct — option (4), (A) and (D).
A dryland afforestation manual of the Arid Forest Research Institute (AFRI), Jodhpur, published in 2016, divides Rajasthan into four Koeppen regions and lists the districts in each. Checked against that table, two pairs hold.
(A) Cwg – Bharatpur is correct. AFRI's Cwg region, monsoon type with dry winters, lists the northern parts of Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Kota and Baran, and Rajsamand, Bhilwara, Ajmer, Tonk, Jaipur, Sawai Madhopur, Karauli, Dausa, Alwar, Bharatpur and Dholpur.
(B) Bwhw – Barmer is incorrect. AFRI places Barmer in Bshw, the semi-arid steppe type, with Jalore, Jodhpur, Sirohi, Pali, Nagaur, Churu, Sikar and Jhunjhunu.
(C) Bshw – Ganganagar is incorrect. Ganganagar is in AFRI's Bwhw region, the hot desert type, with West Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Hanumangarh and the western parts of Churu.
(D) Aw – Dungarpur is correct. AFRI's Aw region, tropical savanna type, lists Dungarpur, Banswara, Pratapgarh and Jhalawar, with the southern parts of Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Kota and Baran.
B and C swap the two dry types: Barmer is Bshw, Ganganagar is Bwhw. Only A and D are correct.
Why the others are wrong
- (1)(A), (C), and (D) — This code gets A and D right but also accepts C, Bshw – Ganganagar.
AFRI's table places Ganganagar in Bwhw, the hot desert type, together with Jaisalmer, Bikaner and Hanumangarh. Bshw, the semi-arid steppe type, is Barmer's region, so C is a false pair.
- (2)(B), (C) and (D) — This code keeps D, Aw – Dungarpur, which is correct, but accepts both swapped pairs and leaves out A.
B is false because AFRI puts Barmer in Bshw, and C is false because it puts Ganganagar in Bwhw. A, Cwg – Bharatpur, is true: Bharatpur is on AFRI's list for the monsoon type with dry winters.
- (3)(B) and (C) — This code picks exactly the two false pairs. B gives Barmer the hot desert type and C gives Ganganagar the semi-arid type, the reverse of AFRI's table.
(B) and (C) would answer a question asking which pairs are not correctly matched. The correctly matched pairs are A and D.
Concept
Koeppen's scheme classifies climate from monthly temperature and precipitation. NCERT's Class XI India: Physical Environment explains the letters: A is tropical, with every month's mean temperature over 18°C; B is dry, where S marks a semi-arid climate and W an arid one; C is warm temperate.
Small letters add detail. NCERT glosses w as a dry season in winter, h as dry and hot, and g as the Gangetic plain type.
Read that way, Bwhw is a hot desert with dry winters, Bshw a hot semi-arid steppe with dry winters, Cwg a warm climate with dry winters, and Aw a tropical savanna.
RPSC's 2021 Prelims syllabus lists "Climatic characteristics" under the Geography of Rajasthan. Koeppen's regions sum up those characteristics district by district.
India-wide tables use the same codes. NCERT's table of India's Koeppen regions puts BWhw in extreme western Rajasthan, BShw in some parts of western Rajasthan, and Cwg in eastern Rajasthan along with the Ganga plain.
AFRI's manual adds a caveat: the scheme stresses vegetation and climatic data and leaves out surface features, air pressure and wind direction, so it suits the lower plains more than the highlands.
Key facts
- AFRI's dryland manual (2016) divides Rajasthan into four Koeppen regions: Aw, Bshw, Bwhw and Cwg.
- Bwhw, hot desert type (AFRI): West Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Ganganagar, Hanumangarh and the western parts of Churu.
- Bshw, semi-arid steppe type (AFRI): Barmer, Jalore, Jodhpur, Sirohi, Pali, Nagaur, Churu, Sikar and Jhunjhunu.
- Cwg, monsoon type with dry winters (AFRI), includes Rajsamand, Bhilwara, Ajmer, Tonk, Jaipur, Sawai Madhopur, Karauli, Dausa, Alwar, Bharatpur and Dholpur.
- Aw, tropical savanna type (AFRI), includes Dungarpur, Banswara, Pratapgarh, Jhalawar and the southern parts of Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Kota and Baran.
A and D hold, so the answer is option (4). District lists from AFRI, A Manual for Dryland Afforestation and Management (2016), Table 1.2.
Study next
Common traps
- Swapping the two dry types. In AFRI's table Barmer is Bshw and Ganganagar is Bwhw; the stem's B and C reverse them.
- Reading S and W backwards. In Koeppen's letters, W marks an arid (desert) climate and S a semi-arid (steppe) one.
- Letting canals shape the guess. Koeppen types rest on temperature and rainfall, and AFRI places Ganganagar and Hanumangarh in the hot desert type with Jaisalmer and Bikaner.
A question can pair Koeppen codes with districts and ask which pairs are correct, as this one does.
A question can also give a district and ask for its climatic type, ask what a letter in a code stands for, or ask which region has a tropical savanna climate.
Related PYQs
Which of the following group of districts are correctly arranged in descending order as per the amount of monsoon rainfall they receive ?
- (1) Dholpur, Rajsamand, Jalore
- (2) Bhilwara, Baran, Sikar
- (3) Rajsamand, Jalore, Dholpur
- (4) Pali, Jaipur, Bharatpur
Answer(1)
Same district-level climate of Rajasthan, another measure. That item asks which group of districts is correctly arranged in descending order of monsoon rainfall (RPSC's key: option (1), Dholpur, Rajsamand, Jalore); this one pairs districts with Koeppen climatic types.
Which of the following group of districts of Rajasthan is correctly arranged in ascending order as per average rainfall during South-West Monsoon ?
- (1) Jalore, Jaipur, Kota
- (2) Jaisalmer, Banswara, Rajsamand
- (3) Nagaur, Dhaulpur, Ajmer
- (4) Churu, Baran, Bhilwara
Answer(1)
Same idea of placing districts on Rajasthan's rainfall gradient. That item asks for the group arranged in ascending order of average south-west monsoon rainfall (RPSC's key: option (1), Jalore, Jaipur, Kota); this one uses Koeppen's types instead of rainfall figures.
Practice
- practice — not a real PYQ
In Koeppen's climate classification, which letter denotes a semi-arid (steppe) climate?
- (a)W
- (b)S
- (c)w
- (d)g
Answer(2) — NCERT's India: Physical Environment explains that within dry climates S marks the semi-arid type. Option (1), W, marks the arid type; option (3), w, a dry season in winter; option (4), g, the Gangetic plain type. - practice — not a real PYQ
As per Koeppen's climate classification, which district of Rajasthan falls in the Bwhw (hot desert) type?
- (a)Jaisalmer
- (b)Barmer
- (c)Dungarpur
- (d)Bharatpur
Answer(1) — AFRI's dryland manual lists Jaisalmer in the Bwhw region. Option (2), Barmer, is in Bshw; option (3), Dungarpur, is in Aw; option (4), Bharatpur, is in Cwg.