RAS question
Which wind is called 'Andhi' in Rajasthan?
Correct answer: (A) Dust storm in summer.
In Rajasthan, Andhi is the violent summer dust storm of May-June, a pre-monsoon convective duststorm over northwest India.
Explanation
Andhi is not a regular wind system; it is the violent dust storm associated with the hot pre-monsoon season. In Rajasthan it occurs during May-June, often comes before the monsoon and sharply reduces visibility. MAUSAM treats Andhi as the convective duststorm of northwest India during the pre-monsoon season, with attention to horizontal visibility and surface wind-speed changes during such storms. That is why the option “Dust storm in summer” fits: it captures both the season and the physical character of Andhi. Sea breeze, cold winter wind and monsoon wind describe different circulation or seasonal phenomena, not the dusty, visibility-reducing storm meant here.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) Sea breeze is ruled out because Rajasthan is not being described here by a coastal land-sea circulation, while Andhi is identified as a pre-monsoon duststorm over northwest India.
- (C) A cold winter wind does not match Andhi because Andhi occurs in May-June and is linked with violent dust storms that reduce visibility.
- (D) Monsoon wind is different because Andhi often precedes the monsoon and refers to a duststorm, not the monsoon circulation itself.
Concept
This tests Rajasthan climatology, especially the hot-weather and pre-monsoon phenomena of the Thar and adjoining northwest India. It recurs in RAS because local winds, seasonal dust storms and monsoon onset are standard state-geography facts.