SSC CGL Geography · Free notes
Climatology: SSC CGL Geography
Climatology, Atmosphere and Weather has 42 questions in the SSC CGL Tier I bank: 13 from the 2023 shifts, 16 from the 2024 shifts and 13 from the 2025 shifts, and 32 of them EASY. Most pair a name with a fact: a layer with what happens in it, a local wind with its region, a Koeppen letter with its climate. Nine of the 13 questions from the 2025 shifts were on the atmosphere's layers, so that table comes first.
The handout has every subtopic, worked example, formula and trap with answers shown. The formula sheet is the chapter’s formulas and traps alone, on one page.
Subtopic notes
Atmosphere and Temperature
12 PYQsWhat the air is made of, the layers of the atmosphere and what happens in each, auroras, and the words used for daily and city temperatures.
Pressure, Winds and Storms
16 PYQsWhat drives the monsoon (the ITCZ, the jet streams and the Tahiti-Darwin pressure gap), the retreating monsoon, and India's local winds and storms with their names.
Climate Types and Rainfall
14 PYQsWhat controls a climate, Koeppen's letters and India's climate types, and how moisture becomes rain: humidity, the three kinds of rainfall, and how rain is measured.
Formula & revision sheet
0 formulas · 6 reference tables · 6 gotchas across all subtopics — the exam-eve cheat-sheet
Formula & revision sheet
0 formulas · 6 reference tables · 6 gotchas across all subtopics — the exam-eve cheat-sheet
Reference tables (2)
Watch out for (2)
- Clouds are in the troposphere→ Layers and composition of the atmosphere
- The tropical south has an even temperature→ Temperature words
Reference tables (2)
What drives the monsoon5 rows
Watch out for (2)
- Negative means a weak monsoon→ What drives the monsoon
- Mango showers are not Nor'westers→ Local winds, showers and storms
Reference tables (2)
Humidity and rainfall3 rows
| Kind of rain | Why the air rises |
|---|---|
| Convectional | Heated by the ground |
| Orographic | Pushed up a mountainQ |
| Frontal (cyclonic) | Lifted over colder air |
Watch out for (2)
- Montane climate is Himalayan→ Climate controls and climate types
- Pressure units are not rainfall units→ Humidity and rainfall
PYQ weightage by concept
6 concepts · 42 PYQs — where the marks actually sit, so you know what to drill first
PYQ weightage by concept
6 concepts · 42 PYQs — where the marks actually sit, so you know what to drill first
| Concept | PYQs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Layers and composition of the atmosphere | 8 | 19% |
| Temperature words | 4 | 10% |
| Concept | PYQs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Local winds, showers and storms | 9 | 21% |
| What drives the monsoon | 7 | 17% |
| Concept | PYQs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Climate controls and climate types | 8 | 19% |
| Humidity and rainfall | 6 | 14% |
Test yourself on Climatology, Atmosphere and Weather
15 past SSC CGL questions from this chapter, timed at 9 minutes and marked the way the exam marks it. You see your score and every answer the moment you finish. Free to start.