The average annual rainfall of Rajasthan is approximately:
Correct answer: (A) 57 cm.
Rajasthan's average annual rainfall is approximately 57 cm, making 57 cm the closest stated value for the state's average rainfall.
Explanation
Rajasthan has a low and uneven rainfall regime, so the state average has to be read as an approximate figure rather than a uniform condition across districts. The given explanation states Rajasthan's average annual rainfall as about 57 cm, or roughly 575 mm. Among the options, 57 cm is therefore the only reasonable approximation to the state average; the other figures either understate or overstate Rajasthan's rainfall pattern.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) 110 cm is too high for Rajasthan's state average; even the cited report places the average annual rainfall at about 575 mm (57 cm), far below 110 cm.
- (C) 31 cm understates the state average and is closer to the lower-rainfall western side than to Rajasthan's overall approximate average.
- (D) 85 cm overestimates Rajasthan's average annual rainfall and is above both the question's 57 cm figure and the cited report's about 575 mm (57 cm) figure.
Concept
This tests Rajasthan climatology, especially the arid-to-humid rainfall gradient that shapes agriculture, drought risk and water-resource planning. RAS repeatedly uses such state averages because they connect physical geography with irrigation and regional development questions.