Avielevate / DGCA CPL papers / Aviation Meteorology / TROPICAL SYSTEMS
TROPICAL SYSTEMS — DGCA CPL Aviation Meteorology
Chapter J17 of the Aviation Meteorology paper. 40 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 TROPICAL SYSTEMS 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 | 40 questions |
Sample TROPICAL SYSTEMS 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.
0326002 · TROPICAL SYSTEMS
With increasing altitude, a monsoon depression slopes (tilts) towards the:
- ASE
- BNW
- CSW
- DNE
Why that is the answer
**Concept**
Weather systems are three-dimensional. The centre of a low is not always stacked vertically like a pile of coins: higher up, the centre can lie to one side of the surface centre. This sideways shift with height is called the **tilt** or **slope** of the system.
**Explanation**
A **monsoon depression** forms over the head of the Bay of Bengal during the south-west monsoon. Observations from upper-air soundings show that its circulation extends up to the middle troposphere, about 6 to 9 km, and that its centre shifts towards the **south-west** as you go up.
Look at the diagram. The surface low is at the bottom of the dashed axis. At 3 km the centre lies a little to the south-west, and at about 6 km it lies further south-west still. Seen from above, the upper centres sit south-west of the surface low.
This tilt matters for the weather. Rising air, cloud and rain are concentrated on the side towards which the system tilts, so the heaviest rain of a monsoon depression falls in its **south-west sector**.
**Applying it to the question**
With increasing altitude, a monsoon depression slopes towards the **SW**. A useful link: the tilt is towards the SW, and so is the area of maximum weather.
**Remember for DGCA:** monsoon depression: axis tilts SW with height, heaviest rain in the SW sector, movement WNW.
0326038 · TROPICAL SYSTEMS
Tropical cyclonic storms do NOT develop:
- AAt Poles
- BAt Equator
- CAt Lat 40 deg
- DAll these
Why that is the answer
**Concept**
A **tropical cyclonic storm** forms only where there is a **warm sea** (at least about 26–27°C) and enough **Coriolis effect** to make the converging air rotate. Wherever one of these is missing, a tropical cyclone cannot develop.
**Explanation**
Check each place in the options:
- **At the equator:** the Coriolis effect is zero, because the local vertical is at right angles to the earth's axis. Air flowing into a low fills it directly instead of spinning around it, so no revolving storm can form.
- **At latitude 40°:** there is plenty of Coriolis effect, but the sea is too cold to supply the heat and moisture a tropical cyclone needs. Lows there are frontal (extra-tropical) depressions.
- **At the poles:** the sea is far too cold, or covered in ice.
Look at the diagram: the formation zone is a band at roughly 5–15°, and all three places named lie outside it.
**Applying it to the question**
Tropical cyclonic storms do not develop at the poles, at the equator or at latitude 40°, so the answer is **All these**.
**Remember for DGCA:** no TC at the equator (no Coriolis) and none in cold seas poleward of about 25–30°; they form at about 5–15°.
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Frequently asked
How many TROPICAL SYSTEMS questions are there for the DGCA CPL Aviation Meteorology paper?
Avielevate's bank carries 40 published TROPICAL SYSTEMS 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 TROPICAL SYSTEMS?
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 TROPICAL SYSTEMS?
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