Prelims 2015 · archive
Easy"Each day is more or less the same, the morning is clear and bright with a sea breeze; as the Sun climbs high in the sky, heat mounts up, dark clouds form, then rain comes with thunder and lightning. But rain is soon over."
Which of the following regions is described in the above passage?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) Equatorial
The passage describes the equatorial (tropical wet) climate. It gives a daily cycle: a clear morning, strong heating as the Sun rises, convectional clouds, a short thunderstorm, and the same pattern again the next day. This climate is found near the equator, for example in the Amazon Basin, western equatorial Africa and the East Indies. Rain falls in every month, mostly as afternoon thundershowers.
- ✓ (b) Near the equator, strong heating drives convection every day. Convectional rain comes with thunder and lightning, is heavy, and does not last long. Rain falls in every month as afternoon thundershowers, and the temperature stays uniformly high, so each day is much like the last.
- ✗ (a) The savannah (tropical wet and dry) climate has a distinct dry season and wet season, so its days do not repeat the same way all year.
- ✗ (c) The monsoon type is marked by a seasonal reversal of winds and a distinct rainy season. It does not have a thunderstorm every afternoon all year round.
- ✗ (d) The Mediterranean climate lies on west coasts between about 30° and 40° latitude. It has dry, sunny summers and rain in winter, so daily thunderstorms do not fit.
Remember · Equatorial climate: the same weather every day, with afternoon convectional thunderstorms, rain in all months, uniformly high temperature and a negligible annual range.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 Fundamentals of Physical Geography, Ch 11 (practise this chapter) · Class 11 Fundamentals of Physical Geography, Ch 10 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- NCERT Class 11 · Fundamentals of Physical Geography, Chapter 11 “Tropical wet climate is found near the equator. The major areas are the Amazon Basin in South America, western equatorial Africa and the islands of East Indies.”
- NCERT Class 11 · Fundamentals of Physical Geography, Chapter 10 “With thunder and lightening, heavy rainfall takes place but this does not last”
Question: UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) 2015, General Studies paper. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 25 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·