RAS question
In Koppen's classification, 'Cwg' type climate found in India represents:
Correct answer: (A) Monsoon type with dry winter (Gangetic plains).
In Koppen's classification, the Cwg climate found in India represents monsoon type climate with dry winters, associated with the Gangetic plains.
Explanation
Cwg is a warm temperate or humid mesothermal climate marked by dry winters. C stands for warm temperate climate, w marks the dry winter season, and g indicates the Ganges type, where the hottest month occurs before the summer solstice. The cited INFLIBNET chapter on climatic classification lists India's Koppen regions and identifies Cwg as "monsoon type with dry winters". The plain of India falls under the warm temperate type of climate with dry winters. This fits the Gangetic plains, where summer heat peaks before the monsoon arrives, so option A captures both the code and the Indian regional setting.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) Semi-arid steppe climate is a dry-climate category coded BSh or Bshw, whereas Cwg belongs to the warm temperate dry-winter group.
- (C) Tropical monsoon climate is coded Amw in this framing, so it does not explain the C and w elements in Cwg.
- (D) Cold desert climate is coded BWk, while Cwg denotes warm temperate climate with dry winters rather than a desert type.
Concept
Koppen's climate-code notation applies directly to Indian climatic regions. RAS often asks such items because a small letter-code distinction separates monsoon, steppe, desert and temperate dry-winter regions.