Geography MCQs for UPSC Prelims — August 2026

Q1. Chile shares its land boundary with how many countries?

  • A. One
  • B. Two
  • C. Three
  • D. Four

Q2. Samarkand and the historic centre of Bukhara in Uzbekistan are inscribed as properties under the 1972 UNESCO Convention concerning the protection of cultural and natural heritage. The decision to inscribe a property under this Convention is taken by which one of the following?

  • A. The World Heritage Committee, the intergovernmental body established under the Convention
  • B. The UNESCO General Conference, the plenary body composed of all UNESCO member states
  • C. ICOMOS, the advisory body that evaluates cultural nominations made under the Convention
  • D. The UNESCO Executive Board, which oversees the organisation's programme between sessions

Q3. With reference to Uzbekistan, which one of the following statements is correct?

  • A. It is the largest country of Central Asia by area, ahead of Kazakhstan
  • B. It is the only Central Asian country that shares a land border with Afghanistan
  • C. It is one of only two countries in the world every one of whose neighbours is itself landlocked
  • D. It is the only Central Asian state that is a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

Q4. The Kosi is known in Nepal as the Saptakoshi. Consider the following: 1. Arun — rises to the north of Mount Everest in Tibet and forms the main stream of the Kosi. 2. Tamur — joins the main stream from the east. 3. Karnali — the westernmost of the constituent streams that merge to form the Saptakoshi. 4. Sun Kosi — joins the main stream from the west. Which of the above is/are correctly identified as constituents of the Saptakoshi?

  1. Arun — rises to the north of Mount Everest in Tibet and forms the main stream of the Kosi.
  2. Tamur — joins the main stream from the east.
  3. Karnali — the westernmost of the constituent streams that merge to form the Saptakoshi.
  4. Sun Kosi — joins the main stream from the west.
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1, 3 and 4 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 4 only

Q5. The magnitude-5.2 signal registered by the United States Geological Survey at the time of the August 2026 Rasuwa disaster is best understood as which one of the following?

  • A. A tectonic rupture along the Main Central Thrust which, in turn, dislodged the ice mass from the slope above
  • B. An aftershock of the 2015 earthquake, which alone had destabilised every slope in the surrounding catchment
  • C. The seismic signature produced by the mass movement of ice and rock itself, rather than by any tectonic event
  • D. Ground shaking generated entirely by the sudden collapse of the debris barrier obstructing the Lhende Khola

Q6. The highway section running between Betrawati and Rasuwagadhi, damaged at multiple points along its entire length by the August 2026 flood surge, extends over approximately how many kilometres?

  • A. About 12 km
  • B. About 27 km
  • C. About 42 km
  • D. About 58 km

Q7. With reference to the river system and setting of the area struck by the August 2026 Himalayan flash flood, consider the following: 1. The Lhende Khola, into which the ice-and-rock debris descended, is a tributary of the Bhote Koshi river. 2. The Bhote Koshi of this district feeds into the Trishuli river. 3. The Trishuli unites with the Kali to form the river that is known as the Narayani up to the Indian border. 4. Rasuwa district lies along Nepal's international boundary with the Indian State of Sikkim. Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. The Lhende Khola, into which the ice-and-rock debris descended, is a tributary of the Bhote Koshi river.
  2. The Bhote Koshi of this district feeds into the Trishuli river.
  3. The Trishuli unites with the Kali to form the river that is known as the Narayani up to the Indian border.
  4. Rasuwa district lies along Nepal's international boundary with the Indian State of Sikkim.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3 only
  • B. 2 and 4 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 3 and 4 only

Q8. In the analysis of Himalayan glacial-lake hazards, the term 'moraine' refers to which one of the following?

  • A. The terminal ice cliff at a glacier's snout from which blocks calve into the water body lying in front of it
  • B. The debris-mantled surface of a glacier tongue on which meltwater ponds form and gradually merge
  • C. An accumulation of unconsolidated debris, rock, sand and clay that has been deposited by a moving glacier
  • D. A ridge of solid bedrock left exposed by glacier retreat that impounds meltwater in the valley behind it

Q9. Consider the following descriptions of terms used in the study of Himalayan glacial-lake hazards: 1. Supraglacial lake — a water body that forms on the surface of a debris-covered glacier as small meltwater ponds expand and coalesce. 2. Moraine-dammed lake — the lake type that has accounted for the largest number of recorded glacial lake outburst flood events in the Hindu Kush Himalaya. 3. Ice-dammed lake — a lake impounded behind a ridge of bedrock left exposed by the retreat of a glacier. 4. Permafrost — ground consisting of soil, sediment or rock that has remained frozen continuously for at least two years. Which of the above is/are NOT correctly described?

  1. Supraglacial lake — a water body that forms on the surface of a debris-covered glacier as small meltwater ponds expand and coalesce.
  2. Moraine-dammed lake — the lake type that has accounted for the largest number of recorded glacial lake outburst flood events in the Hindu Kush Himalaya.
  3. Ice-dammed lake — a lake impounded behind a ridge of bedrock left exposed by the retreat of a glacier.
  4. Permafrost — ground consisting of soil, sediment or rock that has remained frozen continuously for at least two years.
  • A. 1 and 2
  • B. 3 only
  • C. 2 and 4
  • D. 1, 3 and 4

Q10. The institution whose assessments of Hindu Kush Himalayan ice loss and of the August 2026 avalanche are widely cited is ICIMOD. Which one of the following correctly describes its founding basis and character?

  • A. A regional intergovernmental knowledge centre set up in 1981 by agreement between the Government of Nepal and UNESCO, serving eight member countries
  • B. A specialised agency of the United Nations created in 1981 under a General Assembly resolution, open to all mountain states as members
  • C. A regional body constituted in 1981 under the SAARC charter framework, with membership confined to the association's South Asian states
  • D. A regional office of the United Nations Environment Programme opened in 1981, reporting to its governing body on Asian mountain ecosystems

Q11. The Hindu Kush Himalaya region is described as feeding how many major river basins?

  • A. Six
  • B. Eight
  • C. Ten
  • D. Fourteen

Q12. South Lhonak, the Sikkim lake that burst in October 2023, is classified as a proglacial lake. Such a lake is best described as one that occupies which of the following positions?

  • A. A basin lying immediately in front of a glacier snout, commonly impounded by the moraine the glacier deposited
  • B. A shallow water body ponded on the upper ice surface of a glacier, deepened by absorbed solar radiation
  • C. A cavity of meltwater held beneath the glacier bed and sealed by the overlying weight of ice
  • D. A depression in frozen ground beyond the ice margin, kept water-filled by a seasonally thawing active layer

Q13. Among the glacial lakes of the Indian Himalayas identified through long-term satellite imagery as having notably expanded, which one of the following dam types accounts for the largest number of such lakes?

  • A. Moraine-dammed lakes, impounded behind ridges of unconsolidated debris deposited by a formerly larger glacier
  • B. Ice-dammed lakes, the only category in the Himalaya whose barrier can fail catastrophically
  • C. Erosion-based lakes, which invariably drain gradually and never breach their confining rim
  • D. Bedrock-dammed lakes, which are permanently stable because their barrier is solid rock

Q14. Musandam, which forms the southern shore of the Strait of Hormuz, is best described as which one of the following?

  • A. An exclave of Oman on the Arabian Peninsula, cut off from the rest of Omani territory by the United Arab Emirates
  • B. An enclave of the United Arab Emirates lying wholly surrounded by the territory of the Sultanate of Oman
  • C. A condominium on the Arabian Peninsula jointly administered by Oman and Iran under a bilateral seabed agreement
  • D. An island group belonging to Iran situated at the mouth of the Persian Gulf close to the island of Qeshm

Q15. Consider the following statements comparing major maritime chokepoints: 1. The Strait of Malacca, which links the Andaman Sea with the South China Sea, accounts for about 30 per cent of all global trade. 2. The Strait of Hormuz is the only sea channel linking the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman, and about a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas passes through it. 3. Bab el-Mandeb is the busiest of these chokepoints in global oil trade, ranking ahead of both the Strait of Hormuz and the Strait of Malacca. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The Strait of Malacca, which links the Andaman Sea with the South China Sea, accounts for about 30 per cent of all global trade.
  2. The Strait of Hormuz is the only sea channel linking the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman, and about a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas passes through it.
  3. Bab el-Mandeb is the busiest of these chokepoints in global oil trade, ranking ahead of both the Strait of Hormuz and the Strait of Malacca.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q16. The build-up of which one of the following semi-permanent pressure systems is the principal source of the cross-equatorial low-level flow known as the Somali Jet, whose establishment precedes the onset of the southwest monsoon?

  • A. The Azores High, a semi-permanent anticyclone over the eastern North Atlantic near 30°N
  • B. The Mascarene High, a high-pressure belt between about 25°S and 35°S in the southern Indian Ocean
  • C. The Siberian High, a cold-season anticyclone centred over the interior of central Asia
  • D. The Tibetan anticyclone, an upper-tropospheric system over the Tibetan Plateau in summer

Q17. According to the India Meteorological Department, how much rainfall, and over what extent of area, must be recorded for an event to be classified as a cloudburst?

  • A. 50 mm of rainfall in one hour, irrespective of the area over which it falls
  • B. 100 mm of rainfall in twenty-four hours over an area of about 20–30 sq km
  • C. 100 mm of rainfall in one hour over an area of about 20–30 sq km
  • D. Any rainfall exceeding 200 mm in a day, wherever in the country it occurs

Q18. Consider the following statements about the 2026 southwest monsoon season in India as compared with the preceding year: 1. Kharif sowing as on 10 July 2026, at about 53 million hectares, was around 16 per cent lower than the area covered on the corresponding date a year earlier. 2. Rainfall in June 2026 was about 40 per cent below normal, making it the fifth-driest June for the country in a century. 3. Every one of the 111 high-priority districts flagged by the Government as vulnerable to El Niño was already rainfall-deficient by the middle of July 2026. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Kharif sowing as on 10 July 2026, at about 53 million hectares, was around 16 per cent lower than the area covered on the corresponding date a year earlier.
  2. Rainfall in June 2026 was about 40 per cent below normal, making it the fifth-driest June for the country in a century.
  3. Every one of the 111 high-priority districts flagged by the Government as vulnerable to El Niño was already rainfall-deficient by the middle of July 2026.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q19. During the 2026 southwest monsoon season, which one of the following States recorded the largest share of its area under drought conditions?

  • A. Manipur
  • B. Jharkhand
  • C. Meghalaya
  • D. Chhattisgarh

Q20. With reference to the Long Period Average against which the India Meteorological Department expresses its seasonal rainfall forecasts, which one of the following statements is correct?

  • A. It is recomputed every year so that the seasonal forecast is always expressed against the immediately preceding decade of rainfall
  • B. It is the country-wide average southwest monsoon rainfall for the period 1971–2020, currently taken as 868.6 mm
  • C. It is a fixed constant that has never been revised since the department began issuing seasonal monsoon forecasts
  • D. It is the average rainfall of the monsoon core zone alone, and applies exclusively to the four broad homogeneous regions

Q21. Consider the following statements comparing the successive Long Range Forecasts issued by the India Meteorological Department for the 2026 southwest monsoon season: 1. The first Long Range Forecast placed seasonal rainfall at 92 per cent of the Long Period Average, while the updated forecast issued at the end of May lowered this to 90 per cent. 2. The probability assigned to deficient seasonal rainfall rose from 35 per cent in the first forecast to 60 per cent in the updated forecast. 3. The Long Range Forecast Outlook for the second half of the season placed August–September rainfall in the above-normal category at 105 per cent of the Long Period Average. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The first Long Range Forecast placed seasonal rainfall at 92 per cent of the Long Period Average, while the updated forecast issued at the end of May lowered this to 90 per cent.
  2. The probability assigned to deficient seasonal rainfall rose from 35 per cent in the first forecast to 60 per cent in the updated forecast.
  3. The Long Range Forecast Outlook for the second half of the season placed August–September rainfall in the above-normal category at 105 per cent of the Long Period Average.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q22. As assessed in the India Meteorological Department's first Long Range Forecast for the 2026 southwest monsoon season, issued in April 2026, the state of the Indian Ocean Dipole prevailing at the time of issue and the state expected towards the end of the season were, respectively:

  • A. Neutral conditions at the time of issue, with positive IOD conditions likely to develop towards the end of the season
  • B. Negative IOD conditions at the time of issue, with neutral conditions likely to be reached towards the end of the season
  • C. Positive IOD conditions at the time of issue, with negative IOD conditions likely to develop towards the end of the season
  • D. Neutral conditions at the time of issue, with negative IOD conditions likely to develop towards the end of the season

Q23. Consider the following as characteristics of a positive phase of the Indian Ocean Dipole: 1. Anomalously warm sea surface temperatures in the western equatorial Indian Ocean together with anomalously cool ones in the eastern part of the basin. 2. Enhancement of atmospheric convection over the eastern Indian Ocean and its suppression over the western Indian Ocean. 3. A weakening or reversal of the climatological zonal sea-surface temperature gradient, with anomalous winds blowing from east to west along the equator. 4. A suppression of southwest monsoon rainfall over the Indian subcontinent, broadly similar in direction to the effect of El Niño. Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. Anomalously warm sea surface temperatures in the western equatorial Indian Ocean together with anomalously cool ones in the eastern part of the basin.
  2. Enhancement of atmospheric convection over the eastern Indian Ocean and its suppression over the western Indian Ocean.
  3. A weakening or reversal of the climatological zonal sea-surface temperature gradient, with anomalous winds blowing from east to west along the equator.
  4. A suppression of southwest monsoon rainfall over the Indian subcontinent, broadly similar in direction to the effect of El Niño.
  • A. 1 and 2
  • B. 1 and 3
  • C. 2 and 4
  • D. 1, 3 and 4

Q24. Consider the following descriptions of components and phases of the El Niño Southern Oscillation: 1. La Niña — colder-than-average sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific accompanied by an intensification of the prevailing east-to-west surface winds. 2. Southern Oscillation — the oceanic component of the phenomenon, tracked through sea-surface temperature anomalies of the tropical Pacific. 3. El Niño — a period of sea-surface warming that suppresses the nutrient-rich cold upwelling off Peru and Ecuador and typically lasts between 12 and 18 months. 4. El Niño Southern Oscillation — a phenomenon that recurs in irregular cycles of two to seven years and presents three phases. Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. La Niña — colder-than-average sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific accompanied by an intensification of the prevailing east-to-west surface winds.
  2. Southern Oscillation — the oceanic component of the phenomenon, tracked through sea-surface temperature anomalies of the tropical Pacific.
  3. El Niño — a period of sea-surface warming that suppresses the nutrient-rich cold upwelling off Peru and Ecuador and typically lasts between 12 and 18 months.
  4. El Niño Southern Oscillation — a phenomenon that recurs in irregular cycles of two to seven years and presents three phases.
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 2 and 4 only
  • C. 1, 3 and 4 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 4 only

Q25. Sea-surface temperature anomalies over which one of the following areas are most commonly used as the principal index for monitoring the status of the El Niño Southern Oscillation?

  • A. The Niño 1+2 area off the coasts of Peru and Ecuador, where cold coastal upwelling is suppressed
  • B. The western equatorial Indian Ocean, where anomalous warming marks a positive dipole event
  • C. The Niño 3.4 area of the central and east-central equatorial Pacific Ocean
  • D. The southern Indian Ocean near 25°S–35°S, where a semi-permanent high-pressure belt builds up

Q26. In the standard two-fold division of the Aravalli system, the term 'Sambhar–Sirohi ranges' denotes which one of the following?

  • A. The taller south-western section, which contains Mount Abu and the system's highest peak
  • B. The low north-eastern section that continues under alluvium from Delhi towards Haridwar
  • C. The salt-basin section enclosing the inland drainage of western Rajasthan
  • D. The eastern copper-bearing section running from Khetri towards the Chambal valley

Q27. Which one of the following States accounts for the largest share of the extent of the Aravalli range?

  • A. Gujarat, where the range terminates in its south-western segment
  • B. Haryana, whose Aravalli districts adjoin the National Capital Region
  • C. Rajasthan, about fifteen of whose districts carry the bulk of the range
  • D. Madhya Pradesh, where the range merges with the Vindhyan uplands

Q28. Consider the following pairs of States/Union Territory on the India-China border and the sector in which their boundary lies: 1. Ladakh — Western Sector 2. Himachal Pradesh — Middle Sector 3. Sikkim — Middle Sector 4. Arunachal Pradesh — Eastern Sector Which of the above pairs is/are NOT correctly matched?

  1. Ladakh — Western Sector
  2. Himachal Pradesh — Middle Sector
  3. Sikkim — Middle Sector
  4. Arunachal Pradesh — Eastern Sector
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 3 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1 and 4 only

Q29. Which one of the following was Pakistan's first national capital, whose unsuitability led to the capital being moved to an interim seat at Rawalpindi in 1959?

  • A. Lahore, the historic provincial capital of Punjab
  • B. Karachi, the principal port city on the Arabian Sea
  • C. Peshawar, the gateway city near the Khyber Pass
  • D. Dhaka, the principal city of the then eastern wing

Q30. Consider the following statements about Rawalpindi, where Adiala Jail is located, and its neighbouring capital city: 1. Rawalpindi lies on the Potwar Plateau in Punjab province, about 14 km south-west of Islamabad, the two forming twin cities. 2. Rawalpindi served as the seat of Pakistan's government from 1959 to 1969, before the capital functions moved to Islamabad. 3. The site of Islamabad was selected by a commission in 1959 after Lahore was found unsuitable to continue as the national capital, and construction of the new city began in 1961. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Rawalpindi lies on the Potwar Plateau in Punjab province, about 14 km south-west of Islamabad, the two forming twin cities.
  2. Rawalpindi served as the seat of Pakistan's government from 1959 to 1969, before the capital functions moved to Islamabad.
  3. The site of Islamabad was selected by a commission in 1959 after Lahore was found unsuitable to continue as the national capital, and construction of the new city began in 1961.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3