RAS question
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) divides the monsoon season into which months?
Correct answer: (C) June to September.
For IMD's seasonal classification, the South-West Monsoon or rainy season runs from June to September.
Explanation
IMD's seasonal frame separates the Indian climate into winter, pre-monsoon or summer, South-West Monsoon, and post-monsoon or North-East Monsoon periods. In that frame, the monsoon season asked in the question is the South-West Monsoon, also described as the rainy season, and it covers June to September. The cited IMD Hydrometeorological Services page supports the same window by describing India's southwest monsoon season as June to September. This makes option C precise: it neither starts before the monsoon period nor extends into the post-monsoon months. The other options shift the window into pre-monsoon or post-monsoon time, so they do not match IMD's classification.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) July to October misses June, which is part of the South-West Monsoon season, and includes October, which belongs to the post-monsoon or North-East Monsoon period.
- (B) April to September wrongly adds April and May, which fall in the pre-monsoon or summer season rather than in the South-West Monsoon season.
- (D) May to August starts in the pre-monsoon season and leaves out September, so it cuts across IMD's June to September monsoon window.
Concept
This tests Indian climatology, especially IMD's seasonal division of the Indian monsoon. It recurs in RAS because monsoon timing is the base layer for questions on rainfall, agriculture and regional climate patterns.