Geophysical phenomena and changes
Syllabus: Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone etc., geographical features and their location: changes in critical geographical features (including water-bodies and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes.
Current affairs on this topic 8
- Monsoon 2026 ends 12.6% below normal, India's weakest season since 2015 1 October 2026
A dry June, a strong El Niño and a late rally: how did India end up with a 'deficient' monsoon?
- UN adopts a declaration that rising seas will not erase island states 28 September 2026
If the sea swallows a country's land, does the country, and its ocean zone, disappear too?
- Karnataka's legislature asks the Centre to shrink the Western Ghats eco-sensitive area 23 September 2026
Conservation zone or livelihood threat? A decade-old fight returns to the Assembly.
- Bihar floods despite a 27% rain deficit, and the Ganga, not Nepal, is behind it 11 September 2026
How can a State short of rain be under water? Look downstream at the Ganga and Farakka, not north at Nepal.
- Houthis seize Yemen's Red Sea port of Mokha, close to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait 11 September 2026
A coffee port that gave 'mocha' its name is now a frontline on a vital sea lane. Why does India care?
- After a deadly glacier collapse, Nepal seeks climate compensation, not aid 9 September 2026
Nepal emits almost nothing, yet a warming world just buried its valleys. Who should pay?
- Centre asks Himalayan States to step up monitoring of glacial lakes and avalanche zones 4 September 2026
Can a warning reach a mountain village before a glacial lake empties into the valley below?
- India records its hottest August since 1901; IMD forecasts below-normal September rain 1 September 2026
A record-hot August, a 14% rain deficit and a strong El Niño: how bad can September get?
Previous-year questions 6
- 2026 · GS1 · 15 marks "The centre of global trade is gradually shifting from the Atlantic region to the Indo-Pacific region." Examine this statement.
- 2025 · GS1 · 10 marks How are climate change and the sea level rise affecting the very existence of many island nations? Discuss with examples.
- 2023 · GS1 · 10 marks Why is the South-West Monsoon called 'Purvaiya' (easterly) in Bhojpur Region? How has this directional seasonal wind system influenced the cultural ethos of the region?
- 2021 · GS1 · 10 marks Differentiate the causes of landslides in the Himalayan region and Western Ghats.
- 2017 · GS1 · 15 marks What characteristics can be assigned to monsoon climate that succeeds in feeding more than 50 percent of the world population residing in Monsoon Asia?
- 2015 · GS1 · 12.5 marks How far do you agree that the behaviour of the Indian monsoon has been changing due to humanising landscape? Discuss.