UPSC Prelims 2013 · GS Paper I
Question 65: Geography
“Climate is extreme, rainfall is scanty and the people used to be nomadic herders.” The above statement best describes which of the following regions?
AnswerUPSC’s answer is (b).
The Central Asian steppe is a temperate grassland far from the sea, with an extreme continental climate, hot summers, bitterly cold winters, and scanty rainfall. Its peoples, such as the Kazakhs and Kirghiz, were traditionally nomadic herders. The savanna is a warm grassland with a distinct wet season, the American prairie became a farming belt, and the Siberian tundra is a polar region with very short, cool summers.
Why each option is right or wrong
- (a) Wrong. The savanna is warm with a wet season, and its climate is not extreme in this way.
- (b) Correct. The steppe has an extreme climate, scanty rain and nomadic herders.
- (c) Wrong. The prairie is largely settled farmland.
- (d) Wrong. The tundra is polar, without hot summers.
Answer: UPSC’s key. Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.
Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2013, General Studies Paper I, Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.