UPSC Prelims 2025 Geography questions: topic-wise weightage
UPSC Prelims 2025 asked 12 geography questions in GS Paper I, spread over 2 topics. See the geography weightage for 2025 below, then attempt each question with the official answer and an explanation.
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Geography 2025: questions by topic
Counted from the 12 questions on this page, tagged by topic in the Battle IAS PYQ bank.
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Climate and oceans 7
Which of the following are the evidences of the phenomenon of continental drift?
- I. The belt of ancient rocks from Brazil coast matches with those from Western Africa.
- II. The gold deposits of Ghana are derived from the Brazil plateau when the two continents lay side by side.
- III. The Gondwana system of sediments from India is known to have its counterparts in six different landmasses of the Southern Hemisphere.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer (c) & explanation
All three are evidence for continental drift (c). Item I is right: the belt of ancient rocks on the coast of Brazil matches those of West Africa. Item II is right: Ghana's gold has no source rock in Ghana, but its source exists in the Brazil plateau, showing the two lands once lay side by side. Item III is right: India's Gondwana sediments have twins in six southern landmasses. So options (a), (b) and (d), which leave items out, fail.
Notice other proofs used by Alfred Wegener (1912): the "jig-saw fit" of coastlines, tillite from old glaciers, and fossils like Mesosaurus found on both sides of the Atlantic. His idea was later explained by sea-floor spreading and plate tectonics.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following statements :
Statement I : The amount of dust particles in the atmosphere is more in subtropical and temperate areas than in equatorial and polar regions.
Statement II : Subtropical and temperate areas have less dry winds.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
Answer (c) & explanation
Statement I is correct, Statement II is wrong (c). Statement I is right: dust in the air is highest over the subtropical and temperate belts. Statement II is wrong, because it reverses the reason: these belts have more dry winds, not fewer, and those winds lift dust from deserts and dry land, such as the Sahara, Thar and Gobi. Near the equator, heavy rain washes dust out of the air, and in polar regions, ice and snow give little dust to lift. So options (a), (b) and (d) fail.
Notice why dust matters: it acts as hygroscopic nuclei around which water condenses into clouds and rain. It also scatters sunlight, giving red sunrises and sunsets. Saharan dust even feeds the Amazon with phosphorus.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following statements :
Statement I : In January, in the Northern Hemisphere, the isotherms bend equatorward while crossing the landmasses, and poleward while crossing the oceans.
Statement II : In January, the air over the oceans is warmer than that over the landmasses in the Northern Hemisphere.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
Answer (a) & explanation
Both are correct and Statement II explains Statement I (a). Statement II is right: in the northern winter (January), land loses heat fast, while the oceans stay warmer, because water heats and cools slowly. Statement I follows: a given temperature line, or isotherm, is pushed south (equatorward) over the cold land and north (poleward) over the warm ocean. Options (b), (c) and (d) miss this link.
Notice the reverse in July: land is hotter, so isotherms bend poleward over land. Warm currents like the Gulf Stream and North Atlantic Drift push isotherms further north, keeping Norway's ports ice-free. In the Southern Hemisphere, with more ocean, isotherms run fairly straight.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following statements :
Statement I : In the context of effect of water on rocks, chalk is known as a very permeable rock whereas clay is known as quite an impermeable or least permeable rock.
Statement II : Chalk is porous and hence can absorb water.
Statement III : Clay is not at all porous.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
Answer (c) & explanation
Only Statement II is correct and it explains Statement I (c). Statement II is right: chalk is porous and its pores connect, so water soaks through it, making it permeable. Statement III is wrong: clay is actually very porous, often holding more water than chalk, but its pores are so tiny that water cannot pass through, which makes it impermeable. So only II explains I, and options (a), (b) and (d) fail.
Notice the key difference: porosity is how much space a rock has for water; permeability is how easily water flows through. Permeable rocks form aquifers that store groundwater, while clay layers act as aquicludes that trap water above or below them, as in artesian wells.
Porous and permeable are not the same. Clay holds water but will not let it through.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following statements :
- I. Without the atmosphere, temperature would be well below freezing point everywhere on the Earth’s surface.
- II. Heat absorbed and trapped by the atmosphere maintains our planet’s average temperature.
- III. Atmosphere’s gases, like carbon dioxide, are particularly good at absorbing and trapping radiation.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Answer (c) & explanation
All three statements are correct (c). Statement I is right: without its air, Earth would average about −18°C, instead of about 15°C now, so it would be below freezing everywhere. Statement II is right: the heat absorbed and trapped by the atmosphere keeps our average temperature. Statement III is right: gases such as water vapour, carbon dioxide and methane absorb the long-wave (infrared) radiation the surface gives off and send part of it back. This is the greenhouse effect. So options (a), (b) and (d) fail.
Notice the difference: the natural greenhouse effect makes life possible, but the enhanced greenhouse effect from burning fossil fuels causes global warming. Water vapour is the largest natural greenhouse gas.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to the planet Earth, consider the following statements :
- I. Rain forests produce more oxygen than that produced by oceans.
- II. Marine phytoplankton and photosynthetic bacteria produce about 50% of world’s oxygen.
- III. Well-oxygenated surface water contains several folds higher oxygen than that in atmospheric air.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (b) & explanation
Only statement II is correct (b). Statement II is right: about half of Earth's oxygen comes from the ocean, mostly from phytoplankton and photosynthetic bacteria such as Prochlorococcus. Statement I is wrong: so rainforests do not produce more oxygen than oceans; the Amazon also uses up most of what it makes. Statement III is wrong: even well-mixed surface water holds far less oxygen than air, only a few millilitres per litre against about 210 in air.
Notice the link to dead zones: warm water holds even less oxygen, and nutrient runoff from fertilisers causes algal blooms that strip it out, as in the Gulf of Mexico and the Arabian Sea. Ocean warming threatens these tiny oxygen makers.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following statements :
- I. Anadyr in Siberia and Nome in Alaska are a few kilometers from each other, but when people are waking up and getting set for breakfast in these cities, it would be different days.
- II. When it is Monday in Anadyr, it is Tuesday in Nome.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (a) & explanation
Only statement I is correct (a). Statement I is right: the International Date Line runs through the Bering Strait between Anadyr in Siberia and Nome in Alaska, so at breakfast time the two places are on different days. Statement II is wrong: Anadyr, on the western (Asian) side, is a day ahead. So when it is Monday in Anadyr, it is still Sunday in Nome, not Tuesday. So options (b), (c) and (d) fail.
Notice the rule: crossing the Date Line westward, you add a day; crossing eastward, you subtract one. The line roughly follows the 180° meridian but zigzags to keep island groups like Kiribati on one date. The Diomede islands in the strait are just 4 km apart, but a day apart.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
World geography and places in the news (mapping) 5
Consider the following countries :
- I. Bolivia
- II. Brazil
- III. Colombia
- IV. Ecuador
- V. Paraguay
- VI. Venezuela
Andes mountains pass through how many of the above countries?
Answer (c) & explanation
The Andes pass through four of these countries (c). The Andes, the world's longest mountain range above sea, run down the west of South America through Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina. From this list, that is Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela. Items II and V are wrong: Brazil and Paraguay lie east of the range, on the Brazilian Highlands and the Gran Chaco plains.
Notice the facts UPSC likes: Aconcagua in Argentina is the highest peak outside Asia; the Atacama Desert lies in their rain shadow; and Lake Titicaca, on the Peru–Bolivia border, is the highest navigable lake. The range is a fold mountain chain on the Pacific Ring of Fire.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following water bodies :
- I. Lake Tanganyika
- II. Lake Tonlé Sap
- III. Patos Lagoon
Through how many of them does the equator pass?
Answer (d) & explanation
The equator passes through none of them (d). Item I is wrong: Lake Tanganyika lies in the Rift Valley a few degrees south of the equator. Item II is wrong: Tonlé Sap is in Cambodia, at about 12°N. Item III is wrong: Patos Lagoon is in southern Brazil, near 31°S. The equator crosses Lake Victoria, not Tanganyika.
Notice Tonlé Sap's oddity: its river reverses flow in the monsoon, when the swollen Mekong pushes water back into the lake. Tanganyika is the world's longest freshwater lake and second deepest, after Baikal. The equator also passes through Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Kenya, the DR Congo and Indonesia.
Tanganyika is close to the equator and the trap. The East African lake on the equator is Victoria.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following countries :
- I. United Kingdom
- II. Denmark
- III. New Zealand
- IV. Australia
- V. Brazil
How many of the above countries have more than four time zones?
Answer (b) & explanation
Four of the five have more than four time zones (b). Overseas territories add time zones. Item I is right: the UK has nine, with places like the Falklands and Pitcairn. Item IV is right: Australia has nine with its territories. Item II is right: Denmark has five with Greenland and the Faroes. Item III is right: New Zealand has five with the Chatham Islands, Tokelau, the Cook Islands and Niue. Item V is wrong: Brazil has four, so it does not qualify.
Notice the record holder: France has the most time zones, 12, thanks to territories across the world. Russia has 11 on its mainland. India uses one zone, IST, set at 82.5°E near Mirzapur, five and a half hours ahead of GMT.
Count the islands and territories, not only the mainland. Mainland Denmark has a single zone.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following pairs :
| Country | Resource-rich in
| I. Botswana | Diamond
| II. Chile | Lithium
| III. Indonesia | Nickel
In how many of the above rows is the given information correctly matched?
Answer (c) & explanation
All three rows are correctly matched (c). Row I is right: Botswana is among the top diamond producers, from mines such as Jwaneng, one of the richest. Row II is right: Chile has the world's largest lithium reserves, in the Atacama salt flats. Row III is right: Indonesia is the largest nickel producer, and has banned raw ore exports to build its own processing. So options (a), (b) and (d) fail.
Notice the "Lithium Triangle": Chile, Argentina and Bolivia together hold most of the world's lithium. India's KABIL has bought lithium blocks in Argentina. Nickel and lithium are both critical minerals for EV batteries, and Indonesia's ore ban is a model of resource nationalism.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following pairs :
| Region | Country
| I. Mallorca | Italy
| II. Normandy | Spain
| III. Sardinia | France
In how many of the above rows is the given information correctly matched?
Answer (d) & explanation
None of the rows is correctly matched (d). Row I is wrong: Mallorca is a Balearic island of Spain, not Italy. Row II is wrong: Normandy is in northern France, not Spain. Row III is wrong: Sardinia is an island of Italy, not France. Each region has been paired with a wrong neighbour, so options (a), (b) and (c) fail.
Notice the nearby trap: Corsica, just north of Sardinia, belongs to France and was Napoleon's birthplace. Normandy is famous for the D-Day landings of June 1944 in World War II. Sicily is Italy's largest island. UPSC often tests islands of the Mediterranean that sit close to a different country.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
All years by topic
Every question from 2011 to 2026, grouped by syllabus topic, with year-wise trends.