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Rainfall and Local Winds: asked and not asked.

UPSC has asked 13 of these 20. 3 came more than once. 7 have not come yet. Lock the repeated ones first, then read the rest.

First, the concept

Most of India's rain comes from the south-west monsoon (June to September). It splits into the Arabian Sea branch and the Bay of Bengal branch.

Rain falls heavily on the windward side of a hill and little on the far side: the rain-shadow. So Mumbai gets far more rain than Pune, and Cherrapunji far more than Shillong.

Tamil Nadu's coast gets most of its rain later, from the north-east (retreating) monsoon in October to December.

Before the monsoon, short local storms have their own names. UPPCS asks the name with its region.

🔁 Asked again and again (3)

Tap a year to open that solved question.

Rain-shadow areas

  • Pune and the Deccan · Lee side of the Western Ghats 3 times:201820041998

Monsoon facts

  • North-east monsoon of Tamil Nadu · October to December rain on the Coromandel coast 6 times:202620042004199719911979
  • El Niño · Warm Pacific waters; usually weakens the Indian monsoon 4 times:2017201120102002

✅ Asked once (10)

Wettest and driest places

  • Mawsynram · Meghalaya; the highest average rainfall in the world
  • Cherrapunji (Sohra) · Meghalaya, Khasi hills 2002
  • Mahabaleshwar · Western Ghats, Maharashtra; very heavy rain 2009
  • Leh · Ladakh; one of the driest places, a cold desert 2021
  • Jaisalmer · Rajasthan; very low rainfall in the Thar 2007

Rain-shadow areas

  • Shillong · Gets much less rain than Cherrapunji, which lies near it 1993
  • Ladakh · Behind the Great Himalaya; almost no monsoon rain 2014

Local storms and winds

  • Kalbaisakhi (Nor'westers) · Evening thunderstorms of West Bengal and Odisha in April–May

Monsoon facts

  • Kerala onset (about 1 June) · The monsoon reaches the mainland first in Kerala 1991
  • Indian Ocean Dipole · A positive dipole usually helps the Indian monsoon 2017

❌ Not asked by UPSC yet (7)

Items marked 'asked in UPPCS' have already come in the UP state exam, so examiners do use them.

Wettest and driest places

  • Agumbe · Karnataka; called the 'Cherrapunji of the South'

Local storms and winds

  • Mango showers · Pre-monsoon showers of Kerala and Karnataka; help mangoes ripen asked in UPPCS
  • Loo · Hot, dry summer wind of the northern plains asked in UPPCS
  • Western disturbances · Winter rain in Punjab, Haryana and the hills; good for the rabi crop asked in UPPCS
  • Cherry blossoms (coffee showers) · Pre-monsoon showers of Karnataka and Kerala; help coffee flowers bloom
  • Bardoli Chheerha (tea showers) · Nor'westers of Assam; good for tea

Monsoon facts

  • Tropical Easterly Jet · A high-level wind over India in summer, linked with a strong monsoon

⚠️ Mawsynram, not Cherrapunji, has the highest average rainfall now. Mango showers help mangoes, cherry blossoms help coffee: do not swap them. Tamil Nadu gets most rain in winter, not June–September.

'Asked' is checked against the solved UPSC questions on this site. 'Not asked yet' does not mean it will surely come.

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