[Mission 2022] QUIZ – 2020: INSIGHTS STATIC QUIZ , 29 October 2021 – Geography

Solution: d)

Tropical cyclones can relieve drought conditions as they often carry moisture laden winds.

In addition to strong winds and rain, tropical cyclones are capable of generating high waves, damaging storm surge, and tornadoes.

They typically weaken rapidly over and where they are cut off from their primary energy source. For this reason, coastal regions are particularly vulnerable to damage from a tropical cyclone as compared to inland regions.

Heavy rains however, can cause significant flooding inland, and storm surges can produce extensive coastal flooding up to 25 miles from the coastline.

They also carry heat energy away from the tropics and transport it toward temperate latitudes, because they are large wind systems that absorb the frontal conditions of the area they flow in.

Finally, due to the high speed they blow in, they also act as the earth’s filter system by cleansing the air of toxins and pollutants out of the atmosphere. 

Solution: c)

Tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure centre.

On Earth, the pressures recorded at the centres of tropical cyclones are among the lowest ever observed at sea level.

At the centre of a mature tropical cyclone, air sinks rather than rises. For a sufficiently strong storm, air may sink over a layer deep enough to suppress cloud formation, thereby creating a clear “eye”.

If the air pressure is high at the centre and low at the edges, an anti-cyclone is formed.

Solution: a)

Arabian Sea is comparatively less prone to cyclonic storms than Bay of Bengal (BOB): Reasons are:

• Temperature: BOB is hotter than Arabian sea. Hot water temperature is the basic criteria for the development & intensification of cyclones.
• Salinity: Arabian sea has higher salinity than BOB. It’s easier to heat & simultaneously evaporate water having lower salinity.
• Location: The typhoons originating in the Pacific Ocean too influences the cyclones in BOB, not the case in Arabian Sea.
• Movement: According to IMD cyclones originating in Arabian Sea are believed to move northwest. So they actually move away from Indian mainland. The Bay receives higher rainfall and constant inflow of fresh water from the Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers. This means that the Bay’s surface water keeps getting refreshed, making it impossible for the warm water to mix with the cooler water below, making it ideal for a depression.

Solution: c)

General factors responsible for the origin of Cyclones in Bay of Bengal region are:

1. Large sea surface with temperature higher than 27° C
2. Presence of the Coriolis force enough to create a cyclonic vortex.
3. Small variations in the vertical wind speed.
4. A pre-existing weak low-pressure area or low-level-cyclonic circulation.
5. Upper divergence above the sea level system.

Solution: a)

A bomb cyclone is simply a storm that intensifies very rapidly. Bomb cyclones form when air near Earth’s surface rises quickly in the atmosphere, triggering a sudden drop in barometric pressure — at least 24 millibars within 24 hours.

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