Now Reading: UPSC Mains practice covers El Niño, Chandela temple architecture
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UPSC Mains practice covers El Niño, Chandela temple architecture
The Story in Brief
UPSC Essentials has published its Mains answer practice for GS Paper 1, dated Friday, 30 October 2026. The set includes two questions: one on the role of El Niño in influencing the formation, intensity and track of tropical cyclones in the North Indian Ocean, and another on the contribution of the Chandela dynasty to temple architecture in medieval India.
The El Niño question references Cyclone Arnab, which intensified over the Bay of Bengal in October 2026, as an example of how suitable oceanic and meteorological conditions drive cyclone development. The source notes that during El Niño years, cyclones tend to move toward Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu rather than Odisha and West Bengal.
The Chandela question focuses on the dynasty that ruled central India between the 10th and 12th centuries. Aspirants can share their answers and suggestions via email or the comment box.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The questions reveal how UPSC Mains preparation now explicitly integrates current events into static syllabus topics. Question 1 draws on Cyclone Arnab’s October 2026 intensification to test understanding of El Niño’s mechanism, linking a contemporary disaster to geophysical theory. Question 2 on the Chandela dynasty offers a conventional culture syllabus option. The source provides only a practice framework, not a model answer, leaving aspirants to develop their own arguments. The note that El Niño shifts cyclone tracks toward Andhra and Tamil Nadu, not Odisha and West Bengal, carries direct implications for disaster preparedness along specific coastlines, a point the source states but does not elaborate further.
Source: indianexpress.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Methodology and corrections.
