UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Dr. Jitendra Singh Launches India's Seventh Regional Meteorological Centre in Jammu

Q1. With the inauguration of the Regional Meteorological Centre at Jammu in June 2026, how many Regional Meteorological Centres (RMCs) does the India Meteorological Department now operate in the country?

  • A. Five
  • B. Six
  • C. Seven
  • D. Eight

Q2. In the context of the India Meteorological Department, what does the term 'Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC)' precisely denote?

  • A. A WMO-designated global centre that issues tropical cyclone advisories for an ocean basin under the World Weather Watch programme
  • B. A regional headquarters of the IMD that coordinates forecasting, warning and climate services for a defined group of States/UTs falling within its jurisdiction
  • C. An autonomous society under the Ministry of Earth Sciences engaged exclusively in monsoon and climate-change research
  • D. A district-level observatory that records surface weather parameters and transmits data to the National Weather Forecasting Centre, New Delhi

Q3. With reference to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), which one of the following best describes a 'Regional Meteorological Centre' (RMC)?

  • A. An administrative-cum-technical unit, headed by a Deputy Director General, exercising control over meteorological centres, forecasting offices and warning centres within a defined zone
  • B. An autonomous scientific institute set up under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for regional climate-change research
  • C. A bilateral observatory jointly operated by IMD and the World Meteorological Organization for cyclone tracking in the Indian Ocean
  • D. A State-government-run weather observatory funded through the State Disaster Mitigation Fund and reporting to the State Disaster Management Authority

Q4. The Regional Meteorological Centres of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) function under which one of the following Union Ministries?

  • A. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
  • B. Ministry of Science and Technology
  • C. Ministry of Earth Sciences
  • D. Ministry of Home Affairs, through the National Disaster Management Authority

Q5. Which one of the following statements best describes the India Meteorological Department (IMD)?

  • A. The principal government agency of India in all matters relating to meteorology and allied subjects, functioning under the Ministry of Earth Sciences
  • B. A statutory regulatory authority for climate and pollution monitoring under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
  • C. An autonomous research society for atmospheric sciences under the Department of Science and Technology
  • D. An attached office of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation handling aviation weather services

Q6. In which year was the India Meteorological Department (IMD) established?

  • A. 1864
  • B. 1875
  • C. 1889
  • D. 1928

Q7. Mission Mausam, approved by the Union Cabinet in 2024, is being primarily implemented by three institutes functioning under which one of the following Union Ministries?

  • A. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
  • B. Ministry of Science and Technology
  • C. Ministry of Earth Sciences
  • D. Ministry of Jal Shakti

Q8. In the context of Mission Mausam, the acronym 'NCMRWF' — one of its three primary implementing institutes — stands for which one of the following?

  • A. National Centre for Monsoon Research and Weather Forecasting
  • B. National Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting
  • C. National Council for Meteorological Research and Wind Forecasting
  • D. National Centre for Marine Resources and Weather Forecasting

Q9. With reference to the 'Indigenous GPS-based Pilot Sonde' commissioned by the India Meteorological Department at Jammu, which one of the following correctly describes the instrument?

  • A. A GPS-tracked free-rising balloon system used to measure upper-air wind speed and direction
  • B. A balloon-borne instrument that transmits vertical profiles of temperature, humidity and pressure to the ground
  • C. An expendable probe released from aircraft to profile atmospheric conditions over oceans
  • D. A ground-based microwave radar that estimates precipitation intensity using the Doppler shift of returned signals

Q10. Which one of the following Indian meteorological observatories has been recognised by the World Meteorological Organization as a 'Centennial Observing Station' on completion of more than 100 years of uninterrupted observations?

  • A. Mukteshwar Observatory
  • B. Leh Observatory
  • C. Srinagar Meteorological Centre
  • D. Shimla Observatory

Q11. With reference to the India Meteorological Department's (IMD) classification of extreme rainfall events in the Himalayan region, consider the following statements:

  1. A 'cloudburst' is defined by the IMD as rainfall of 100 mm or more in one hour over a small area of about 20–30 square kilometres, whereas categories like 'very heavy' and 'extremely heavy' rainfall are measured over a 24-hour period.
  2. Unlike ordinary heavy monsoon rainfall in the plains, cloudbursts in the Himalayas are primarily triggered by orographic lifting of warm, moisture-laden air over steep mountain slopes.
  3. Cloudbursts, by IMD's definition, exclude any role for orographic mechanisms and are caused solely by the interaction of western disturbances with Arctic cold fronts.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1 and 3 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q12. The India Meteorological Department (IMD), which is the sole nodal agency in India for issuing cloudburst and flash-flood related weather warnings, functions exclusively under which one of the following Union Ministries?

  • A. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
  • B. Ministry of Earth Sciences
  • C. Ministry of Science and Technology
  • D. Ministry of Jal Shakti

Q13. Which one of the following is NOT a recognition criterion for a station to be designated as a WMO Centennial Observing Station?

  1. The station has been in continuous operation for at least 100 years with not more than 10% downtime.
  2. The station is still active and operational at the time of nomination.
  3. The station has been formally accredited by the United Nations General Assembly on the recommendation of the WMO Secretary-General.
  4. Historic observation data and metadata have been or will be made available for scientific research under the WMO data policy.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 2 and 4
  • C. 3 only
  • D. 1 and 3

Q14. Which of the following institutions are NOT under the administrative control of the Ministry of Earth Sciences?

  1. National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF), Noida
  2. Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun
  3. Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad
  4. Indian Institute of Geomagnetism, Navi Mumbai
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 2 and 4 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 4 only
  • D. 3 only

Q15. The Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre (ITEWC), which issues tsunami advisories for the Indian Ocean Rim countries, is operated by which one of the following organisations?

  • A. National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Goa
  • B. Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad
  • C. National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai
  • D. National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR), Chennai