RAS question
Which part of Rajasthan gets rainfall from both Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal monsoon branches?
Correct answer: (D) South-eastern Rajasthan.
South-eastern Rajasthan receives rainfall from both the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal branches of the south-west monsoon.
Explanation
South-eastern Rajasthan is the part of the state that gets rain from both monsoon branches. Banswara, Jhalawar and Dungarpur are examples, with the Arabian Sea branch reaching through Gujarat and the Bay of Bengal branch also contributing. AIJRA Vol. VIII Issue IV describes this pattern in its climate section: Rajasthan ranges from severely dry to humid, the eastern and south-eastern regions fall in the humid zone, and south-eastern Rajasthan receives the state's highest rainfall, about 580-920 mm, because of south-west monsoon winds from both the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. That dual-source rainfall makes the south-east distinct from the drier western and more single-branch northern or central parts.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Northern Rajasthan is not the dual-branch zone here; it gets rainfall mainly from the Bay of Bengal branch.
- (B) Central Rajasthan is also marked as receiving rainfall mainly from the Bay of Bengal branch, so it does not match the two-branch condition asked in the question.
- (C) Western Rajasthan gets very little rainfall from either branch, which is consistent with the PDF's description of the north and west as the state's lowest-rainfall areas.
Concept
This tests Rajasthan's monsoon-rainfall distribution, especially how regional location controls the source and amount of rainfall. It recurs in RAS because climate, agro-climatic zones and regional geography are standard Rajasthan Geography themes.