Which classification of climate is described as rational because it is built on the water balance of a place?
- A.Koppen's classification
- B.Thornthwaite's classification
- C.Trewartha's classification
- D.Stamp and Kendrew's classification
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, Thornthwaite's classification. C. W. Thornthwaite measured precipitation effectiveness and thermal efficiency, that is, the balance between the water a place receives and the water it loses to evaporation and transpiration, and because these are derived quantities rather than raw readings his scheme is called rational. Option A is wrong because Koppen's scheme uses the observed monthly values of temperature and rainfall and is therefore called empirical. Option C is wrong because Trewartha only simplified and revised Koppen, keeping the same empirical character. Option D is wrong because Stamp and Kendrew divided India using the January isotherm of eighteen degrees Celsius and the annual rainfall, again an empirical method. Classifications built on air masses and pressure belts form the third family and are called genetic.
Read the full article: Koppen Climatic Regions of India: Types, Letters and Areas
Practice Questions
View allKoppen's classification of climate is based primarily on which two elements?
- A.Air pressure and wind direction
- B.Monthly mean temperature and precipitation
- C.Latitude and altitude
- D.Soil type and drainage
Show answer
Koppen, who was a botanist as well as a climatologist, held that natural vegetation is the best single index of climate, and he fixed his boundaries using the monthly values of temperature and rainfall that vegetation belts seem to follow.
Read the full explanation →In Koppen's scheme, which climatic type is found on the west coast of India south of Goa?
- A.As
- B.Aw
- C.Amw
- D.Cwg
Show answer
The code stands for a monsoon climate with a short dry season: the Malabar coast is hot in every month, so the capital A applies, and it receives extremely heavy rain from the south-west monsoon, leaving only a brief dry spell.
Read the full explanation →The As type of climate, a monsoon climate with dry summer, is found in India only along the
- A.Coromandel coast of Tamil Nadu
- B.Konkan coast of Maharashtra
- C.Coast of Odisha
- D.Coast of Gujarat
Show answer
This coast lies in the rain shadow of the Western Ghats while the south-west monsoon blows, so its summer is comparatively dry, and it gets most of its rain between October and December from the retreating monsoon and the north-east monsoon, which is exactly what the small letter s records.
Read the full explanation →In Koppen's classification of Indian climates, the code BWhw, the hot desert type, is given to
- A.Eastern Rajasthan
- B.Extreme western Rajasthan
- C.Southern Punjab
- D.North-western Gujarat
Show answer
The capital B marks a dry climate, the capital W marks the arid or desert subdivision, h marks a hot climate and the last w marks a dry winter, so the whole code describes the heart of the Thar, the driest part of the country.
Read the full explanation →Which Indian state alone is given the Dfc code, a cold humid winter with a short summer?
- A.Sikkim
- B.Himachal Pradesh
- C.Arunachal Pradesh
- D.Meghalaya
Show answer
The capital D marks a cold snow forest climate in which the coldest month falls below minus three degrees Celsius, f marks the absence of a dry season and c marks a short summer with fewer than four months above ten degrees Celsius, and in the standard table for India…
Read the full explanation →