A prolonged period of inadequate rainfall marked with mal-distribution of the same over time and space is known as :
- A.Agricultural drought
- B.Hydrological drought
- C.Ecological drought
- D.Meteorological drought
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is D, Meteorological drought. A drought defined only by too little rain, badly spread over time and space, is a meteorological drought.
Drought is usually classified by what runs short. Meteorological drought is the first stage: rainfall stays well below normal for a long period. India's Meteorological Department treats a fall of more than 25 per cent below the normal rainfall of an area as a drought. If the shortage lasts, it spreads to soil moisture, then to rivers and groundwater, and finally to forests and wildlife, which gives the other three types. So meteorological drought is the cause, and the others are its effects.
A is wrong because agricultural drought is a shortage of soil moisture that makes crops fail. B is wrong because hydrological drought is the drying of surface water and groundwater in reservoirs, rivers and aquifers. C is wrong because ecological drought is when natural ecosystems lose productivity from water stress.
Exam tip: meteorological (rain) → agricultural (soil and crops) → hydrological (rivers and groundwater) → ecological (ecosystems).
Practice Questions
View allWhich one of the following is not a form of condensation?
- A.Dew
- B.Fog
- C.Frost
- D.Sleet
Show answer
Sleet is a form of precipitation, frozen raindrops or a mix of rain and snow that falls from clouds, not a form of condensation.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following cities was the first to attain the status of a 'megacity'?
- A.London
- B.Paris
- C.New York
- D.Washington
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New York, with its urban agglomeration, became the first city to cross a population of 10 million, around 1950. A megacity is an urban agglomeration with more than 10 million people, the threshold used by the United Nations.
Read the full explanation →The shortest day length that occurs in the Northern hemisphere is on
- A.21st March
- B.23rd September
- C.22nd November
- D.22nd December
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On the winter solstice the Sun is overhead at the Tropic of Capricorn, so the Northern Hemisphere has its shortest day and longest night.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following is likely to be the most prevalent form of weathering in hot-tropical desert areas?
- A.Mechanical
- B.Chemical
- C.Biological
- D.Leaching
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Hot deserts have a large daily range of temperature and very little moisture, so rocks break up physically rather than decay chemically.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following positions of Sun, Earth and Moon is/are suitable for Spring Tide ?
1. SYZYGY Conjunction
2. SYZYGY Opposition
3. Quadrature
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
- A.1 only
- B.2 only
- C.1 and 2
- D.1 and 3
Show answer
Spring tides occur whenever the Sun, the Earth and the Moon lie in a straight line, a position called syzygy, whether the Moon is on the same side as the Sun or the opposite side.
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