RAS question
The southwest monsoon first strikes the Indian coast at:
Correct answer: (D) Kerala coast.
The southwest monsoon officially first reaches the Indian mainland at the Kerala coast, normally around 1 June with a variation of about seven days.
Explanation
The answer is Kerala coast because the official advance of the southwest monsoon over the Indian mainland is marked by its onset over Kerala. The IMD source states that the southwest monsoon normally sets in over Kerala on 1 June, with a standard deviation of about seven days. After this onset, the monsoon advances through the Arabian Sea branch along the western coast and the Bay of Bengal branch towards eastern and north-eastern India. This is why exam questions use Kerala, not a later west-coast location, as the standard marker for the monsoon's first arrival on the Indian coast.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Andaman and Nicobar Islands may receive pre-monsoon rain in late May, but the official onset used for the Indian mainland is marked over Kerala.
- (B) Gujarat is reached later by the Arabian Sea branch, so it cannot be the first Indian coast where the southwest monsoon is officially marked.
- (C) Mumbai gets the monsoon after Kerala, around 10 June in the standard progression, so it is a later west-coast stage rather than the first strike.
Concept
This tests the onset and advance of the Indian monsoon, a core physical geography theme in RAS. It recurs because the timing and route of the southwest monsoon explain rainfall distribution across India.