Q18 · UPSC Civil Services Mains 2015 · GS I · 12 marks · 3 min read

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How far do you agree that the behaviour of the Indian monsoon has been changing due to humanizing landscape? Discuss.

Topic: Geophysical Phenomena. Syllabus: Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, tsunami, volcanic activity, cyclone etc., geographical features and their location-changes in critical geographical features (including water-bodies and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes. Same official PYQ from year-wise 2015 and Geophysical Phenomena.

Revision summary

The monsoon is still an ocean–continent wind system at heart. Deforestation, irrigation, cities, and aerosols change local rain, onset, and extremes. Urban heat can mean heavier short storms; sealed soil turns them into floods. El Niño, the Indian Ocean, and greenhouse warming remain major controls. Agree in part: humans reshape monsoon behaviour, they do not solely own it.

Model answer

Flow diagram

flowchart TD
  L[Forest to farm city irrigation] --> M[Local monsoon rain]
  A[Aerosols heat islands] --> M
  O[ENSO IOD ocean heat] --> M
  G[Global warming] --> M
  M --> V[More extremes variable spells]

Conclusion

  • Restore Ghats and catchment forests, cut aerosols, and plan cities for cloudbursts, while still watching the Pacific and Indian Oceans in the forecast.

Humanized landscapes have changed how monsoon rain falls on the ground—more bursts, more urban storms, some local drying after forest loss, and aerosol effects on clouds. That is a real but partial story. The monsoon’s large behaviour still answers to oceans and a warming planet. The fair agreement is “yes, in part, and growing,” not “the monsoon is now only a land-use product.”

Quick related

Students also ask

  • Has the monsoon stopped because of cities and farms?

    No. It still arrives as a large seasonal system. Humans have changed its local punch and some of its reliability.

  • Is landscape change more important than El Niño?

    For a single all-India drought year, the ocean often dominates. For urban floods and Ghats rainfall, land and aerosols matter more.

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