RAS question
October heat in India refers to:
Correct answer: (A) High temperature and humidity during retreating monsoon.
October heat in India is the oppressive spell of high temperature and high humidity during the retreating southwest monsoon season.
Explanation
October heat occurs during the retreating southwest monsoon season, especially around October and November. NCERT explains that this season is marked by clear skies and a rise in temperature while the land remains moist from the monsoon. That combination matters: moisture keeps humidity high, and the clearer skies allow temperatures to rise, so the weather feels oppressive rather than merely warm. This is why the expression does not refer to desert winds, fires, or a return of peak summer. It describes a specific post-monsoon weather condition created by high temperature, high humidity, clear skies and still-moist land as the southwest monsoon withdraws.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) Warm winds from the Thar desert point to loo-type summer conditions, whereas NCERT places October heat in the retreating monsoon season.
- (C) Forest fires are not part of NCERT's explanation of October heat, which is tied to moist land, clear skies, high temperature and humidity.
- (D) October heat is oppressive because of humidity and a post-monsoon temperature rise, not because October has extreme summer temperatures.
Concept
This tests the seasonal rhythm of the Indian monsoon, especially the transition from the southwest monsoon to the retreating monsoon. RAS frequently asks such terms because they connect physical geography vocabulary with India's month-wise weather pattern.