Geography: previous-year questions
167 real UPSC Prelims questions (2011–2026) with the official answer and a clear explanation. 67 of them came in the last five papers.
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Questions per year, counted from the official papers.
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With reference to ‘Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD)’ sometimes mentioned in the news while forecasting Indian monsoon, which of the following statements is/are correct ?
- 1. IOD phenomenon is characterised by a difference in sea surface temperature between tropical Western Indian Ocean and tropical Eastern Pacific Ocean.
- 2. An IOD phenomenon can influence an El Nino’s impact on the monsoon.
Select the correct answer using the code given below :
Answer (b) & explanation
Only statement 2 is correct (b). Statement 1 is wrong because the Indian Ocean Dipole is the difference in sea-surface temperature between the western Indian Ocean (Arabian Sea, off Africa) and the eastern Indian Ocean (near Sumatra–Java), not the Pacific. In a positive IOD, the western waters are warmer, which brings more rain to India. Statement 2 is right because a positive IOD can offset El Niño's drying effect. In 1997, a strong El Niño year, the monsoon was still normal.
A positive IOD also fuelled the strong 2019 monsoon and the Australian bushfires. Notice the related term ENSO: El Niño (a warm Pacific) usually weakens the monsoon, while La Niña strengthens it. The IMD watches both when forecasting.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which of the following is geographically closest to Great Nicobar ?
Answer (a) & explanation
Sumatra is closest to Great Nicobar (a). Indira Point, the southern tip of Great Nicobar and India's southernmost point, is only about 150 km from the northern tip of Sumatra (Aceh), across the Great Channel. Borneo (b) and Java (c) are much farther east and south. Sri Lanka (d) is over 1,300 km away. Indira Point is also very close to the Malacca Strait, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.
That nearness is why the Great Nicobar project, costing about ₹72,000 crore, plans an international transshipment port at Galathea Bay, an airport and a township. Notice the opposing concerns: forest loss, harm to leatherback turtles and corals, and the rights of the Shompen, a particularly vulnerable tribe.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Recently, linking of which of the following rivers was undertaken?
Answer (b) & explanation
The Godavari and Krishna were linked (b). In September 2015, Andhra Pradesh completed the Pattiseema lift irrigation scheme. It pumps surplus Godavari water into the Polavaram right main canal, which carries it about 174 km to the Krishna near Vijayawada (Prakasam barrage). It was the first river link actually finished in India. Cauvery–Tungabhadra (a), Mahanadi–Sone (c) and Narmada–Tapti (d) were not done then. The Par–Tapi–Narmada link has since been shelved.
Under the National Perspective Plan (1980), the Ken–Betwa link (MP–UP) is the first project under the national programme, and its foundation stone was laid in December 2024. Notice the debate around such links: they threaten forests like Panna Tiger Reserve.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Recently, which of the following States has explored the possibility of constructing an artificial inland port to be connected to sea by a long navigational channel?
Answer (d) & explanation
Rajasthan explored the idea (d). As a landlocked State, Rajasthan studied building an artificial inland port at Jalore. It would be joined to the Arabian Sea by a long navigation channel running through the Rann of Kutch and the Luni river area into Gujarat's Gulf of Kutch. The plan was to cut freight costs for its minerals, marble and farm goods. Andhra Pradesh (a) and Karnataka (c) already have sea coasts. Chhattisgarh (b) is landlocked but had no such plan.
Notice the related national ideas: Sagarmala, which develops ports and coastal shipping, and the National Waterways Act, 2016, which named 111 national waterways. Dry ports and freight corridors such as the Western DFC are the cheaper option for landlocked States.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which of the following is/are tributary/tributaries of Brahmaputra?
- 1. Dibang
- 2. Kameng
- 3. Lohit
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer (d) & explanation
All three are tributaries (d). In Arunachal Pradesh, the Siang meets the Dibang (1) and the Lohit (3) near Sadiya, and from there the river is called the Brahmaputra. The Kameng (2), known as the Jia Bharali in Assam, rises near the Tawang area and joins the Brahmaputra from the north near Tezpur. Any option leaving out one of them is incomplete.
Other right-bank (northern) tributaries are the Subansiri, Manas and Sankosh; left-bank ones include the Burhi Dihing, Dhansiri and Kopili. Notice how the Tsangpo in Tibet becomes the Siang, then the Brahmaputra, and finally the Jamuna in Bangladesh.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
In which of the following regions of India are shale gas resources found?
- 1. Cambay Basin
- 2. Cauvery Basin
- 3. Krishna-Godavari Basin
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer (d) & explanation
All three basins have shale gas (d). Shale gas is natural gas trapped in fine-grained shale rock, and it is extracted by horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (fracking). Studies by the US EIA, ONGC and CMPDI have identified potential in the Cambay (Gujarat) (1), Cauvery (Tamil Nadu) (2) and Krishna-Godavari (Andhra Pradesh) basins (3). Other basins with potential include Assam-Arakan, the Gondwana basins (Damodar valley) and the Indo-Gangetic plains.
India's 2013 policy allowed ONGC and Oil India to explore shale in their existing blocks, and HELP (2016) now gives a single licence for all hydrocarbons. Notice the limits: fracking needs huge amounts of water and can pollute groundwater, which slows it down in water-stressed India.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which one of the following regions of India has a combination of mangrove forest, evergreen forest and deciduous forest?
Answer (d) & explanation
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands combine mangroves along creeks and coasts, tropical evergreen forest in the wet interior and moist deciduous forest on drier slopes (d). North Coastal Andhra (a) has mainly dry deciduous forest. South-West Bengal (b), with the Sundarbans, is mostly mangrove, and Southern Saurashtra (c) is dry, with thorn and dry deciduous forest.
The islands get heavy rain from both monsoons and lie near the equator, which explains this rich mix. Notice how island ecosystems are rich but fragile, as debates over the Great Nicobar project show.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following statements :
- 1. The winds which blow between 30° N and 60° S latitudes throughout the year are known as westerlies.
- 2. The moist air masses that cause winter rains in North-Western region of India are part of westerlies.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (b) & explanation
Only statement 2 is correct (b). The westerlies blow between 30° and 60° latitude in each hemisphere. Statement 1 is wrong because "30° N to 60° S" would stretch across the tropics, where the trade winds blow. Western disturbances, which bring winter rain and snow to north-west India, travel from the Mediterranean region on the westerly jet stream, so they are part of the westerlies.
Their winter rain is vital for the rabi wheat crop of Punjab and Haryana. Notice how a wind belt far away shapes Indian farming, and how the "roaring forties" mark strong westerlies in the south.
Statement 1 changes one letter, N to S, and the band then covers the tropics as well.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
In a particular region in India, the local people train the roots of living trees into robust bridges across the streams. As the time passes, these bridges become stronger. These unique ‘living root bridges’ are found in
Answer (a) & explanation
Living root bridges are found in Meghalaya (a). The Khasi and Jaintia people guide the aerial roots of the rubber fig (Ficus elastica) across streams, and over years the roots grow into strong bridges, such as the famous double-decker bridge at Nongriat. Himachal Pradesh (b), Jharkhand (c) and Tamil Nadu (d) do not have this tradition.
The bridges grow stronger with age and can last for centuries. The "Jingkieng Jri" root bridge landscapes were placed on UNESCO's tentative list in 2022. Notice how this shows indigenous engineering working with nature: a model of sustainable infrastructure.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Tides occur in the oceans and seas due to which among the following?
- 1. Gravitational force of the Sun
- 2. Gravitational force of the Moon
- 3. Centrifugal force of the Earth
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer (d) & explanation
All three contribute (d). Tides come from the Moon's gravitational pull (2), which is the strongest effect; the Sun's pull (1), which is weaker but still important; and the centrifugal force of the Earth–Moon system turning around a common centre (3). The pull creates a bulge facing the Moon, and the centrifugal effect creates one on the opposite side.
When Sun, Moon and Earth line up at new and full moon, the pulls add up to give spring tides. At right angles, during quarter moons, they partly cancel to give neap tides. Notice how the Gulf of Khambhat's high tides make it a site for tidal energy.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following States :
- 1. Arunachal Pradesh
- 2. Himachal Pradesh
- 3. Mizoram
In which of the above States do ‘Tropical Wet Evergreen Forests’ occur?
Answer (c) & explanation
Tropical wet evergreen forests need more than 250 cm of rain and a short dry season. They are found in the Western Ghats, the North-East, including Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. So 1 and 3 are correct (c). Himachal Pradesh has subtropical pine and temperate forests instead, so options with 2 fail.
These forests are dense, multi-layered and tall, with trees such as rosewood, mahogany and ebony, and they never shed leaves all at once. Notice how rainfall and temperature decide forest type, so a rainfall map of India is a forest map too.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
In the South Atlantic and South-Eastern Pacific regions in tropical latitudes, cyclone does not originate. What is the reason?
Answer (b) & explanation
Tropical cyclones grow out of disturbances along the ITCZ. Over the South Atlantic and south-east Pacific, the ITCZ rarely moves south of the equator, so the seed disturbances seldom form. UPSC's key gives this as the reason (b). Option (a) is partly true, as cold currents cool the sea, but the key does not accept it. Option (c) is wrong because the Coriolis force at these latitudes is strong enough. Option (d) is wrong: cyclones need open ocean, so an absence of land would help, not hinder.
The cold Benguela and Humboldt currents and strong wind shear also help keep these seas cyclone-free.
Cool water there is real, but the official key picks the ITCZ. Learn the keyed reason.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which one of the following countries of South-West Asia does not open out to the Mediterranean Sea?
Answer (b) & explanation
Jordan does not open onto the Mediterranean (b). It is nearly landlocked, with only about 26 km of coast at Aqaba on the Red Sea. Syria (a), Lebanon (c) and Israel (d) all have Mediterranean coastlines.
Jordan borders Israel, the West Bank, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, and shares the Dead Sea with Israel and the West Bank. The port of Aqaba is its only gateway to the sea, making it vital for trade. Notice how UPSC returned to this idea in 2017; learning which West Asian countries touch which seas makes map questions much easier.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which one of the following pairs of States of India indicates the easternmost and westernmost State?
Answer (d) & explanation
India's eastern limit, about 97°25′ E, lies in Arunachal Pradesh in the Dibang–Lohit area near Kibithu. The western limit, about 68°7′ E, lies in Gujarat at Guhar Moti in Kutch. So the answer is (d). Assam (a, c) lies west of Arunachal, and Rajasthan's western border (a, b) lies east of Kutch.
The roughly 30° spread of longitude creates about a two-hour difference in local time between the two ends. That is why India uses one standard meridian, 82°30′ E through Mirzapur, and why the North-East has long asked for its own time zone. Notice how geography shapes daily life.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
In India, in which one of the following types of forests is teak a dominant tree species?
Answer (a) & explanation
Teak and sal are the dominant trees of tropical moist deciduous forests, which get roughly 100–200 cm of rain (a). These forests grow along the Western Ghats, in central India and the Shiwalik foothills, and shed their leaves in the dry season. Tropical rain forests (b) are evergreen, with species such as rosewood and mahogany. Thorn scrub (c) has acacia and cactus-like plants, and temperate forests (d) have oak, deodar and conifers.
Teak also grows in the drier deciduous belt. Notice how teak's strength made it prized for shipbuilding, which led the British to set up India's first forest department.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
What explains the eastward flow of the equatorial counter-current?
Answer (b) & explanation
The North and South Equatorial Currents flow westward and pile up water on the western side of the oceans. This raised water flows back eastward as the counter-current, between the two westward currents, so the answer is convergence of the two equatorial currents (b). Option (a), Earth's rotation, drives the westward currents but does not explain the return flow. Salinity (c) is not the main driver, and the calm belt (d) only allows the flow to happen.
Notice how ocean currents act like a giant conveyor belt, and how shifts in this system are linked to El Niño and monsoon rainfall in India.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
“Each day is more or less the same, the morning is clear and bright with a sea breeze; as the Sun climbs high in the sky, heat mounts up, dark clouds form, then rain comes with thunder and lightning. But rain is soon over.” Which of the following regions is described in the above passage?
Answer (b) & explanation
The passage describes the equatorial climate (b). Strong heating every day drives convection: cumulonimbus clouds build up by afternoon and bring a short thunderstorm at about the same time each day, often called "four o'clock rain". There is hardly any seasonal change, so "each day is more or less the same". The savannah (a) and monsoon (c) climates have distinct wet and dry seasons, and the Mediterranean (d) has dry summers and wet winters.
Such climate supports dense tropical rainforests, as in the Amazon and Congo basins. Notice how daily weather can reveal the climate type.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following pairs :
| Place of Pilgrimage | Location
| 1. Srisailam | Nallamala Hills
| 2. Omkareshwar | Satmala Hills
| 3. Pushkar | Mahadeo Hills
Which of the above pairs is/are correctly matched?
Answer (a) & explanation
Only pair 1 is correct (a). The Srisailam jyotirlinga stands in the Nallamala Hills of the Eastern Ghats, beside the Krishna, in Andhra Pradesh. Omkareshwar is on an island in the Narmada, between the Vindhya and Satpura ranges in Madhya Pradesh, not in the Satmala Hills, which are in Maharashtra. Pushkar, with its lake and Brahma temple, lies in the Aravalli hills near Ajmer, not in the Mahadeo Hills (Pachmarhi).
The Nallamala forests also hold the Nagarjunasagar–Srisailam Tiger Reserve, India's largest. Notice how pilgrimage sites follow rivers and hills, linking culture with physical geography.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to ‘dugong’, a mammal found in India, which of the following statements is/are correct?
- 1. It is a herbivorous marine animal.
- 2. It is found along the entire coast of India.
- 3. It is given legal protection under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer (c) & explanation
Statements 1 and 3 are correct (c). The dugong or "sea cow" is a herbivorous marine mammal that grazes on seagrass (1). It is protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act (3). Statement 2 is wrong: in India it survives only in the Gulf of Mannar–Palk Bay, the Gulf of Kutch and the Andaman and Nicobar islands, not along the entire coast.
Tamil Nadu notified India's first Dugong Conservation Reserve in Palk Bay in 2022. It is listed as Vulnerable globally. Notice how protecting seagrass meadows protects the dugong, and also stores carbon.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following rivers :
- 1. Vamsadhara
- 2. Indravati
- 3. Pranahita
- 4. Pennar
Which of the above are tributaries of Godavari?
Answer (d) & explanation
The Indravati, rising in Odisha and flowing through Bastar, and the Pranahita, formed by the Wardha and Wainganga, are left-bank tributaries of the Godavari (d). The Vamsadhara and the Pennar are separate east-flowing rivers that reach the Bay of Bengal on their own, so options with 1 or 4 fail.
The Godavari is the largest river of peninsular India, often called the Dakshin Ganga. Other tributaries include the Manjira and the Sabari. The Vamsadhara has been the subject of an Andhra–Odisha water dispute. Notice how tributary questions reward learning rivers in their basins.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.