Which one of the following is the correct sequence of the given Indian cities in the decreasing order of their normal annual rainfall?

Answer: (c) Kochi – Kolkata – Patna – Delhi

Kochi ~300 cm → Kolkata ~160 → Patna ~110 → Delhi ~70.

The idea

Rainfall normals describe long-term averages, not the rain in one particular year. Compare exposure to moist sea winds first, then the inland moisture loss along the northern plain. For this 2004 question, those controls give the required order without memorising uncertain rainfall totals.

Why the others are wrong

(a) Delhi is drier than Patna — the plain dries westward.

(b) Kochi (~300 cm) is wetter than Kolkata (~160 cm).

(d) Puts Kolkata first and Delhi before Patna — both reversed: Kerala’s windward coast beats the delta, and the plain dries westward.

The trap

Kolkata feels “very rainy” (cyclones, floods), so people put it first. Kerala’s windward coast is far wetter.

Elimination technique

Patna is wetter than Delhi in the climatic comparison used here. That removes (a) and (d). Comparing Kochi with Kolkata then decides between (b) and (c).

Also know

A coastal location alone is not enough: Chennai has a different rainfall season from Kochi. Pune is drier than nearby windward locations because of the Ghats. A cloudburst or cyclone can make one year unusual without changing the idea of a long-term normal.