IMAGE: A jatropha bud covered in rain droplets.
This beautiful tree is found in many places across India, including Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Odisha, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.
Photograph: Kind courtesy Palanki Narayana
1. Which location receives the highest amount of rainfall annually? No, it is not Cherrapunji.
A. Neriamangalam
B. Agumbe
C. Mawsynram
D. Pasighat
C.
Mawsynram is located in the east Khasi hills district of Meghalaya.
It receives an average annual rainfall of over 11,000 mm! Earlier, Cherrapunji used to receive the highest rainfall in the world, but now Mawsynram is bestowed with the title of 'Wettest Place On Earth'.
2. Which states and Union Territories receive the north-east monsoon too, from October to December?
A. Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Puducherry and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
B. Assam, Nagaland, Tripura, Meghalaya, Manipur and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands
C. Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Daman and Diu.
D. Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh.
A.
These states and Union Territories see the monsoon twice -- both the southwest monsoon and the north-east monsoon.
Tamil Nadu, for instance, receives almost half of its annual rainfall during the winter monsoon that takes place from October to December.
3. Which part of the country receives the monsoon showers first?
A. Himalayas
B. Northeast India
C. Kerala
D. Lakshadweep
C.
Monsoon showers first hits the Western Ghats of the coastal state of Kerala from the southwest monsoon.
4. Which Indian location has the lowest average annual rainfall?
A. Supaul, Bihar
B. Ruyli, Rajasthan
C. Girgoli, Chhattisgarh
D. Hingoli, Maharastra
B.
The small village of Ruyli located in Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan is known to receive the lowest amount of rainfall annually.
5. What is the bursting of monsoon?
A. A drastic degree of precipitation that occurs over a few minutes or so and leads to flooding; as much as 75 mm can be dropped in less than an hour.
B. Bursting of monsoon is about a rapid change in weather in India during the SW monsoon -- usually from hot and dry to wet and humid.
C. A huge slide of mud in a short period of time when a lot of rain falls.
D. When pellets of hail fall during a change in temperature in the monsoon.
B.
(The Encyclopedia of Weather and Climate describes a bursting of monsoon as 'the sudden change in weather conditions in India, typically from hot and dry weather to wet and humid weather during the southwest monsoon, characterised by an abrupt rise in the mean daily rainfall'.)
6. Vagaries is a word often used to quaintly describe an Indian monsoon. What does it mean?
A. It is a term used commonly in India to characterise the erratic nature of the monsoon.
B. It is a term used commonly in India to characterise the erratic colour of the rain during the monsoon.
C. It is a term used commonly in India to characterise the erratic particles found in the rain during the monsoon.
D. It is a term used commonly in India to characterise the erratic temperature of the rain during the monsoon.
A.
According to Wikipedia: 'One of the most commonly used words to describe the erratic nature of the monsoon is 'vagaries, used in newspapers, magazines, books, web portals to insurance plans, and India's budget discussions'.
7. What is a normal southwest monsoon for India?
A. 320 cm through the whole season averaged all across India
B. 26 cm through the whole season averaged all across India
C. 110 cm through the whole season averaged all across India
D. 88 cm through the whole season averaged all across India
D.
88 cm June through September across India.
The India Meteorological Department explains it more scientifically: 'In case of monsoon season (June to September) rainfall over India as a whole, the long period average (LPA) is 88 cm and standard deviation is 9cm (about 10 per cent of the mean value).Therefore, when the rainfall averaged over the country as a whole is within ±10 per cent from its long period average or 9 per cent to 110 per cent of LPA, the rainfall is said to be 'normal' and when the rainfall is less than 90 per cent or greater than 110 per cent of LPA, the rainfall is said to be 'below or above normal'.
8. What is a Somali Jet?
A. A Somalian airplane used to seed monsoon clouds.
B. A Somalian aircraft used to monitor the progress of the entire Indian Ocean monsoon.
C. A Somalian military plane, that along with an Indian Air Force jet, does joint exercises to track the currents in the Indian Ocean during the monsoon.
D. A jet of air from Somalia that flows towards India and boosts the southwest monsoon.
D.
A flow of air that starts out in Mauritius and travels across Madagascar, Kenya, Ethiopia and finally Somalia, before crossing the Arabian Sea and reaching the Indian western coast and helps strengthen the monsoon.
Student portal Vajiram & Ravi offers the simplest explanation: 'The Somali Jet Stream is a major atmospheric circulation feature that plays an important role in the formation and distribution of the Indian monsoon. The Somali Jet Stream is a semi-permanent westerly wind that originates over the Arabian Sea and moves eastward across India'.
9. Who predicts the monsoon in India
A. The IITs
B. RAW
C. IMD
D. CBI
C.
The India Meteorological Department makes the forecasts about the Indian monsoon.
10. Don't eat green leafy vegetables uncooked during the rainy season
A.
The monsoon is a breeding time for a number of bacteria and microbes that can potentially contaminate green leafy vegetables.
There are certain wild leafy vegetables that grow during the monsoon like taro leaves (arbi or alu leaves), cholai/choli (amaranth leaves) that are nutrients rich and we are encouraged to include them our diets even in the wet weather.