Avielevate / DGCA CPL papers / Aviation Meteorology / AIR MASSES, FRONTS AND WD
AIR MASSES, FRONTS AND WD — DGCA CPL Aviation Meteorology
Chapter J14 of the Aviation Meteorology paper. 30 practice questions in the Avielevate bank, every one with its answer key, filterable into a timed set on this chapter alone.
What this chapter covers
The learning objectives we file AIR MASSES, FRONTS AND WD questions under, and how many sit behind each. These come straight out of the bank and are regenerated whenever it changes — they are what is there today, not a claim.
| Learning objective | In the bank |
|---|
| __GEN__ General | 30 questions |
Sample AIR MASSES, FRONTS AND WD questions, answered and explained
Real questions from this chapter, with the answer marked and the reasoning written out — the same explanations you get inside the app.
0323018 · AIR MASSES, FRONTS AND WD
An air mass that originates over the equatorial region is:
- AWarm and dry
- BWarm and Moist
- CCold and dry
Why that is the answer
**Concept**
An **air mass** is a huge body of air, often more than 1,000 km across, with roughly the same **temperature** and **humidity** throughout. It gets these properties from its **source region**, the area it stays over for a long time.
**Explanation**
**Equatorial air** forms over the belt near the equator, roughly 10°N to 10°S.
- **Warm:** the sun is nearly overhead all year, so the surface and the air above it are hot.
- **Moist:** most of this belt is ocean or wet rain forest. Strong evaporation from the warm sea and from vegetation loads the air with water vapour.
This warm, moist, often unstable air feeds the towering cumulus and thunderstorms of the **ITCZ** (Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone), where the trade winds meet. Look at the map of source regions.
**Applying it to the question**
An air mass that originates over the equatorial region is **Warm and Moist**. Warm and dry air comes from hot deserts in the subtropics, such as the Sahara or the Thar (tropical continental air). Cold and dry air comes from large land areas in high latitudes, such as Siberia in winter (polar continental air).
**Remember for DGCA:** equatorial and tropical maritime air: warm and moist; tropical continental: warm and dry; polar continental: cold and dry; polar maritime: cold and moist.
Image credit: public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
0323030 · AIR MASSES, FRONTS AND WD
Western Disturbances generally approach India as:
- ACols
- BOccluded Fronts
- CHighs
Why that is the answer
**Concept**
A **Western Disturbance (WD)** is a weather system that travels from west to east across north India, mostly from December to March. It begins as a **frontal depression** over the Mediterranean, Black Sea and Caspian Sea region and is steered towards India by the upper westerly winds.
**Explanation**
In a frontal depression the cold front moves about twice as fast as the warm front. During its long journey across Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, the WD's cold front catches up with its warm front, lifting the warm-sector air off the ground. The merged front is an **occluded front**.
So when a WD arrives over north India it usually appears as an **occluded front** or as a low or trough in the upper westerlies. It is still a low-pressure system: it brings cloud, rain and thunderstorms to the plains and snow to the western Himalaya. Look at the map of its track.
The other options are different pressure systems:
- **Col:** the neutral area between two highs and two lows, with light winds.
- **High (anticyclone):** sinking air and mostly fair weather. Highs often build over north India after a WD has passed, giving clear nights and fog.
**Applying it to the question**
Western Disturbances generally approach India as **Occluded Fronts**.
**Remember for DGCA:** WD = winter, from the west, usually occluded on arrival; weather ahead and during, fog and cold wave after.
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Frequently asked
How many AIR MASSES, FRONTS AND WD questions are there for the DGCA CPL Aviation Meteorology paper?
Avielevate's bank carries 30 published AIR MASSES, FRONTS AND WD questions for Aviation Meteorology, mapped across 1 learning objective. Every one has its answer key, and explanations are being written across the whole bank.
How much of the Aviation Meteorology paper is AIR MASSES, FRONTS AND WD?
The DGCA does not publish a per-chapter breakdown of its papers, so nobody can honestly tell you — and we will not guess. What we can tell you is what students who have just sat a paper reported meeting, which is measured rather than rumoured: that is the exam recall report inside the app.
What is the best way to revise AIR MASSES, FRONTS AND WD?
Sit a short timed set on this chapter alone, tag how sure you were of each answer, then drill the two that actually leak marks: the ones you got right while guessing, and the ones you got wrong while confident. Avielevate does that tagging for you and puts anything you got wrong back in front of you on a spaced schedule.
The rest of the Aviation Meteorology paper
One account covers every chapter of every paper.
← All Aviation Meteorology chapters · All six DGCA CPL papers