UPSC Geography Previous Year Questions

How are climate change and the sea level rise affecting the very existence of many island nations? Discuss with examples. (Answer in 150 words)

What are non-farm primary activities? How are these activities related to physiographic features in India? Discuss with suitable examples. (Answer in 150 words)

Explain briefly the ecological and economic benefits of solar energy generation in India with suitable examples. (Answer in 150 words)

What are Tsunamis? How and where are they formed? What are their consequences? Explain with examples. (Answer in 150 words)

Give a geographical explanation of the distribution of off-shore oil reserves of the world. How are they different from the on-shore occurrences of oil reserves? (Answer in 250 words)

How can Artificial Intelligence (AI) and drones be effectively used along with GIS and RS techniques in locational and areal planning? (Answer in 250 words)

Discuss how the changes in shape and sizes of continents and ocean basins of the planet take place due to tectonic movements of the crustal masses. (Answer in 250 words)

Discuss the distribution and density of population in the Ganga River Basin with special reference to land, soil and water resources. (Answer in 250 words)

Consider the following countries: I. Austria II. Bulgaria III. Croatia IV. Serbia V. Sweden VI. North Macedonia. How many of the above are members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization?

1. AOnly three
2. BOnly four
3. COnly five
4. DAll the six

Consider the following countries: I. Bolivia II. Brazil III. Colombia IV. Ecuador V. Paraguay VI. Venezuela. The Andes mountains pass through how many of the above countries?

1. AOnly two
2. BOnly three
3. COnly four
4. DOnly five

Consider the following water bodies: I. Lake Tanganyika II. Lake Tonlé Sap III. Patos Lagoon. Through how many of them does the equator pass?

1. AOnly one
2. BOnly two
3. CAll the three
4. DNone

Which of the following are the evidences of the phenomenon of continental drift? I. The belt of ancient rocks from the Brazil coast matches with the ancient rocks of the Western Africa coast. II. The gold deposits of Ghana are derived from the Brazil plateau, when the two continents lay side by side. III. The Gondwana system of sediments from India is known to have its counterparts in six different landmasses of the Southern Hemisphere. Select the correct answer using the code given below.

1. AI and III only
2. BI and II only
3. CI, II and III
4. DII and III only

Consider the following statements: Statement I: The amount of dust particles in the atmosphere is more in the subtropical and temperate regions than in the equatorial and polar regions. Statement II: Subtropical and temperate regions have less dry winds. Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

1. ABoth Statement I and Statement II are correct and Statement II explains Statement I
2. BBoth Statement I and Statement II are correct but Statement II does not explain Statement I
3. CStatement I is correct but Statement II is not correct
4. DStatement I is not correct but Statement II is correct

Consider the following statements: Statement I: In January, in the Northern Hemisphere, the isotherms bend equatorward while crossing the landmasses, whereas poleward while crossing the oceans. Statement II: In January, the air over the oceans is warmer than that over the landmasses in the Northern Hemisphere. Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

1. ABoth Statement I and Statement II are correct and Statement II explains Statement I
2. BBoth Statement I and Statement II are correct but Statement II does not explain Statement I
3. CStatement I is correct but Statement II is not correct
4. DStatement I is not correct but Statement II is correct

Consider the following statements: Statement I: In the context of the effect of water on rocks, chalk is known to be a very permeable rock, whereas mudstone (clay) is known to be a quite impermeable or least permeable rock. Statement II: Chalk is porous, hence can absorb water. Statement III: Mudstone (clay) is not at all porous. Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

1. ABoth Statement II and Statement III are correct and both of them explain Statement I
2. BBoth Statement II and Statement III are correct but only one of them explains Statement I
3. COnly one of the Statements II and III is correct and that explains Statement I
4. DNeither Statement II nor Statement III is correct

Consider the following statements: I. Without the atmosphere, temperature would be well below freezing point everywhere on the Earth's surface. II. Heat absorbed and trapped by the atmosphere maintains our planet's average temperature. III. Atmosphere's gases, like carbon dioxide, are particularly good at absorbing and trapping radiation. Which of the statements given above are correct?

1. AI and III only
2. BI and II only
3. CI, II and III
4. DII and III only

Consider the following statements: Statement I: Scientific studies suggest that a shift is taking place in the Earth's rotation and axis. Statement II: Solar flares and associated coronal mass ejections have bombarded the Earth's outermost atmosphere with a huge amount of energy. Statement III: As the Earth's polar ice melts, the tendency of water is to move towards the equator. Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

1. ABoth Statement II and Statement III are correct and both of them explain Statement I
2. BBoth Statement II and Statement III are correct but only one of them explains Statement I
3. COnly one of the Statements II and III is correct and that explains Statement I
4. DNeither Statement II nor Statement III is correct

Consider the following pairs (State : Description): I. Arunachal Pradesh : The capital is named after a fort, and the State has two National Parks. II. Nagaland : The State came into existence on the basis of a Constitutional Amendment Act. III. Tripura : Initially it was Part 'C' State; it became a centrally-administered territory on the reorganization of States in 1956 and later attained the status of a full-fledged State. How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?

1. AOnly one
2. BOnly two
3. CAll the three
4. DNone

India, an International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), which is one of its founding members. This corridor, a multi-modal transportation corridor, will connect

1. AIndia to Central Asia to Europe via Iran
2. BIndia to Central Asia via China
3. CIndia to South-East Asia through Bangladesh and Myanmar
4. DIndia to Europe through Azerbaijan

Consider the following countries: I. United Kingdom II. Denmark III. New Zealand IV. Australia V. Brazil. How many of the above countries have more than four time zones (Time Zones)?

1. AAll the five
2. BOnly four
3. COnly three
4. DOnly two