RAS question
Kal Baisakhi (Nor'westers) are:
Correct answer: (D) Violent thunderstorms in NE India and Bengal during April-May.
Kal Baisakhi, or Nor'westers, are violent pre-monsoon thunderstorms that affect Bengal and northeast India during April-May.
Explanation
Kal Baisakhi is the eastern and northeastern Indian pre-monsoon thunderstorm pattern, not the onset of the southwest monsoon. India Meteorological Department, Meteorological Centre Agartala describes March, April and May as the pre-monsoon season and identifies thunderstorm events in east and northeast India as Nor'westers or Kalbhaishakhi, with associated lightning, squalls and hailstorms. These storms come from the northwest in April-May and affect West Bengal, Assam and Bihar. That is why option D is the best answer. Their relevance in RAS geography also comes from their agricultural significance: they are considered beneficial for tea and spring rice crops such as aus and boro, and in Assam they are called Bordoichila.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Monsoon onset storms are linked to the arrival of the southwest monsoon, whereas Kal Baisakhi belongs to the March-May pre-monsoon thunderstorm season.
- (B) Punjab winter storms do not match the location or season, because Kal Baisakhi affects West Bengal, Assam, Bihar and the broader east-northeast region in April-May.
- (C) Arabian Sea cyclones are maritime cyclonic systems, while Kal Baisakhi refers to landward violent thunderstorms from the northwest over eastern and northeastern India.
Concept
This tests Indian climatology, especially regional pre-monsoon weather phenomena and their local names. It recurs in RAS because such storms combine physical geography, seasonal winds and crop impacts in one fact pattern.