Which agency declares the monsoon onset?

The Indian Space Research Organisation

What mainly drives the monsoon?

Land heating faster than the ocean

Which two branches carry monsoon winds?

The Atlantic and Pacific branches

Why do the Western Ghats get heavy rain?

Mountains force moist air to rise

Indian Monsoon Quiz: Kerala Onset and Rains Across India

Farmers, markets and governments watch one weather event more closely than any other, and this Indian monsoon quiz explains how the rains arrive and spread. Play an interactive set of 10 questions on the Kerala onset, the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal branches, the Western Ghats, Mawsynram, El Nino, the share of annual rain, withdrawal and the northeast monsoon.

Start Indian Monsoon Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Onset
Where does the southwest monsoon first reach mainland India?
Agency
Which agency declares the monsoon onset?
Coverage
By roughly when does the monsoon normally cover all of India?
Share
Roughly what share of India's annual rainfall falls in the June to September monsoon?
Cause
What mainly drives the monsoon?
Branches
Which two branches carry monsoon winds?
Ghats
Why do the Western Ghats get heavy rain?
Wettest
Which village in Meghalaya is among the wettest places on Earth?
Nino
How does El Nino often affect the Indian monsoon?
Northeast
Which state gets much of its rain from the northeast monsoon?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Where does the southwest monsoon first reach mainland India?
Answer: Kerala
The normal date is around June 1.
Q2: Which agency declares the monsoon onset?
Answer: The India Meteorological Department
It uses rainfall and wind criteria.
Q3: By roughly when does the monsoon normally cover all of India?
Answer: Around July 8
The normal date was revised in 2020.
Q4: Roughly what share of India's annual rainfall falls in the June to September monsoon?
Answer: About 75 percent
Agriculture depends on it.
Q5: What mainly drives the monsoon?
Answer: Land heating faster than the ocean
Moist winds blow in from the sea.
Q6: Which two branches carry monsoon winds?
Answer: The Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal branches
They meet over northern India.
Q7: Why do the Western Ghats get heavy rain?
Answer: Mountains force moist air to rise
This is orographic rainfall.
Q8: Which village in Meghalaya is among the wettest places on Earth?
Answer: Mawsynram
Nearby Cherrapunji is also famous.
Q9: How does El Nino often affect the Indian monsoon?
Answer: It tends to weaken it
Many droughts coincide with El Nino.
Q10: Which state gets much of its rain from the northeast monsoon?
Answer: Tamil Nadu
It falls from October to December.

Indian Monsoon Quiz – Kerala Onset and Rains Across India

The southwest monsoon brings about 75 percent of India's annual rainfall between June and September. The India Meteorological Department declares its onset over Kerala, normally around June 1, and it usually covers the whole country by around July 8.

It forms as land heats faster than the ocean, pulling moist winds inland. The Arabian Sea branch drenches the Western Ghats through orographic rainfall, while the Bay of Bengal branch brings rain to the northeast, where Mawsynram is among the wettest places on Earth.

El Nino years often weaken the monsoon. The rains withdraw from northwest India from mid-September, and Tamil Nadu receives much of its rain from the northeast monsoon between October and December.

What This Quiz Teaches

Weather and geography fans will enjoy these questions.

When the monsoon arrives
What drives it
Where rain is heaviest
What weakens it
Which regions get later rains

Did You Know?

The word monsoon comes from Arabic mawsim, season.
Kharif crops such as rice are sown with the rains.
Monsoon festivals are celebrated across India.
Breaks in the monsoon can last weeks.
Forecasts of total rainfall are issued in April.