Archive · 14 Nov 2025
UPSC Essentials: Environment and Geography Quiz Week 136
Imagine you're studying for a big test!
This is like a special practice test focused on nature and maps.
It asks about the Northeast Monsoon, which is like a smaller rain season for Southern India.
It also asks about how tigers and leopards are different, like how a big, strong boxer is different from a quick, acrobatic gymnast.
We learn about how cities can sometimes trap dirty air, making it harder to see, like a foggy island.
There's also a new plan to help countries save their rainforests by giving them money for not cutting trees.
Finally, it checks if you know how winds spin around storms, like hurricanes, which is different in the top and bottom parts of the world.
The Northeast Monsoon is shorter and less widespread than the Southwest Monsoon, but crucial for Southern India and known as the retreating monsoon.
The 'Turbidity island effect' describes how urban areas can trap more air pollution than rural areas, especially during winter inversions.
The Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF) is a new investment fund aimed at incentivizing tropical forest conservation but is not officially part of the UNFCCC.
In cyclones, wind circulation is anticlockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.
Tigers are generally larger and more powerful, while leopards are more agile, stealthy, and adept at climbing, often adapting their behavior to avoid tigers.
- Who
- UPSC Essentials
- What
- A subject-wise quiz on Environment and Geography covering topics like the Northeast Monsoon, cyclones, and forest conservation mechanisms.
- When
- October (referring to the UPSC Essentials magazine) and current week (Week 136).
- Where
- India (implied by UPSC context and monsoon descriptions), and global tropical forests.
- Why
- To help candidates revise important static syllabus topics for the UPSC examination.
Correct Statements
Incorrect Statements
Northeast Monsoon Characteristics
Correct Statements
Statements 1, 2, and 3 regarding the Northeast Monsoon (shorter, less widespread but important for Southern India, also known as the retreating monsoon) are correct.
Incorrect Statements
Statement 4, which attributes the importance of cotton and sugarcane crops to the Northeast Monsoon, is incorrect; these crops are more significantly associated with the Southwest Monsoon.
Tiger vs. Leopard Adaptations
Correct Statements
Both statements comparing tigers and leopards (tigers being bulkier and stronger, leopards agile and skilled climbers) and noting leopards' adaptations (nocturnal or higher terrain to avoid tigers) are correct.
Incorrect Statements
Neither statement is incorrect.
Turbidity Island Effect
Correct Statements
The 'Turbidity island effect' is correctly related to Air pollution.
Incorrect Statements
This phenomenon is not related to water pollution, soil salinisation, or radioactive contamination.
Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF)
Correct Statements
Statements 2 (first global mechanism for valuing forest ecosystem services with permanent incentives) and 3 (self-financing vehicle awarding returns to tropical forest countries) are correct.
Incorrect Statements
Statement 1, suggesting TFFF is officially part of the UNFCCC, is incorrect.
Wind Circulation in Cyclones
Correct Statements
Both statements describing wind circulation in cyclones (clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere, anticlockwise in the Southern Hemisphere) are incorrectly marked.
Incorrect Statements
The correct directions are anticlockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.
- Quiz Focus
- Environment and Geography
- Quiz Number
- Week 136
- Northeast Monsoon
- Shorter, less widespread than SW monsoon; important for Southern India; also called retreating monsoon.
- Turbidity Island Effect
- Urban/industrial areas as 'islands' of higher atmospheric turbidity, trapping pollutants.
- Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF)
- Investment fund for forest conservation, not officially part of UNFCCC.
- Cyclone Wind Circulation
- Anticlockwise in Northern Hemisphere, clockwise in Southern Hemisphere.